


Lionheart

by NightshadeDawn



Series: The Hostesses [2]
Category: Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types
Genre: Abuse, Angst, Child Abuse, F/M, Minor Character Death, Pre-Canon, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-16
Updated: 2018-05-06
Packaged: 2019-04-23 13:23:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 24,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14333361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NightshadeDawn/pseuds/NightshadeDawn
Summary: Chloe "Coco" Keeton may be small, but she's got a big heart. At least, that's what she thinks. She's a runner and a fighter, and she's determined to never be pushed down again. So when she's sent out to Japan to infiltrate Ouran Highschool, she sees it as a chance to prove herself. She didn't exactly expect to add another midget into the mix.





	1. Lion Cub

**Author's Note:**

> There will undoubtedly be triggering things in this chapter, though I by no means wish to offend anyone. Please, read with caution and if you are not comfortable with physical, emotional, and hints at sexual abuse, or death of any kind, please don't read. You've been warned.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe knows a bit more about the inner workings of abuse than others. She didn't always know it was wrong.

         I flipped the pencil into the air before catching it in my opposite hand. I did this multiple times while laying down on the concrete steps. Something to amuse myself while I waited for the last fifteen minutes of recess to go by.

        Friendship was a foreign subject and kindness was a mystery. But what did it matter anyway? Friends only slowed you down. Always asking their opinion, desiring for their acceptance. 

        Bleh. Nope. Not for this little girl. Me, myself, and I are perfectly fine on our own.

        I walked away from the steps and over to the wooden fence that surrounded the playground. There was a rough dirt patch in a corner with some wild flowers growing there, no one to care for them. 

        I stood in this corner, away from all the other children, and took out the other pencils from my pants pocket. 

        I held one pencil in my hand and turned my hand a bit so the palm was facing upwards slightly, then I aimed the pencil at the fence. And I threw it. The pencil spun until hitting the wood, point first. There were splinters and broken pieces of pencil stuck in the fence from me having done this before. It never really got old. 

        It was pretty entertaining, if not for just something to do. It also gave me a way to vent my anger. 

         _Stupid Miranda. Stupid Mother. Stupid brothers, stupid father._

        I threw another pencil. And each time I thought of one of my family members, I threw another. Then the bell finally rang and everyone began heading back to class.

        Back in class, I sat in my seat by a girl named Alexis. She lived in the house across from mine. Like most every other student in the classroom- no, school, was on the free lunch program. But not only that, her arms were blue and purple, and often she came to school with a bruised face or broken bone.

        But no one said a thing. If she came broken one day, she was sent to the nurse's office and bandaged up. Then sent back to class. No one asked how she got hurt, no fibs were good enough to fool anyone. No one bothered her about them or teased her, we all had some sort too. But we were all careful of the scars, because we knew what it was like to have them too.

        Mrs. Roosevelt sat at the front of the class in front of the white board to take roll. She was an older lady, with graying hair and glasses that most of the time hung around her neck from the string attached to the ends. She was our second teacher for the day, teaching us history, English, and literature. Mr. Grant was our first, and for the last half of the day went and taught Mrs. Roosevelt's class.

        "Chloe?" she called, getting to my name. "Chloe?"

        I raised my hand tiredly. "Here, Mrs. Roosevelt," I said with a sigh.

        "Thank you. Now, Johnathan?" she asked, looking back at her roll sheet. No answer. She looked up from the list. "Johnathan? Has anyone seen Johnathan today?"

        A boy named Bailey who sat on the other side of the room raised his hand.

        "What is it, Bailey?" Mrs. Roosevelt asked. Bailey's solemn expression spoke volumes. As did the bandage on his upper arm, the slash on his cheek. The gravel burn on his palm, the gunfire from the night before. He didn't even need to say it. We already knew. 

        "Mrs. Roosevelt, Johnathan won't be coming to class anymore," he said, looking down at his desk.

        Mrs. Roosevelt sighed and took off her glasses, folding them and placing them on her desk. "Alright then," she said sorrowfully. "It's a shame. He was a bright child, and he will be missed."

        And just like that, not another word was spoken of the boy who died in a drive by.

        After all, it was normal, wasn't it? People getting left behind in the crossfire of heartache.

        I looked over at Bailey and could see a tear slip down his tanned cheek.

         _What was the use of friends, of having people you cared about, if they were only going to leave you and hurt you so badly?_

        "Alright, children, please get out your books," Mrs. Roosevelt said, standing and picking up the book from her desk. "Turn to chapter two, and Chloe, why don't you start us off?"

        "Yes, ma'me," I said, taking out the book. I took the book out of my desk and opened it to chapter two. Then I began to read. "In the evenings, after he had finished his supper of watery cabbage soup, Charlie always went into the room of his four grandparents to listen to their stories, then to say goodnight..."

        I continued reading, then another was chosen to take up where I left off. We read through chapters two and three, then we worked on our projects for them.

        The rest of the day consisted of our journal time and finishing our maps for history. Then the bell rang to end the school day. 

        Mrs. Roosevelt shut the book she had in her hands softly an set it on her desk. "That will be all for today, then," she said. "By next class, I want you all to have read chapter four in your books."

        "Mrs. Roosevelt!" a girl exclaimed, her hand high in the air. "A page from my book was ripped out of chapter four."

        "Then share with someone else for tonight," she said. "You're all excused."

        I turned back to my desk and cleaned up my things, sticking them in my backpack. But as I was walking out of the door, Mrs. Roosevelt called me back.

        "Chloe, I need to speak with you," she called. Alexis turned around to me. 

        "Do you want me to wait?" she asked. I shook my head.

        "No," I said. "It's fine, go home before it gets dark." Alexis nodded slowly before complying with my wishes. I went back into the classroom and stood in front of Mrs. Roosevelt. "Yes?"

        "Chloe, how are you doing?" she asked. I raised an eyebrow, not caring if it seemed like sass.

        "I'm fine, Mrs. Roosevelt, why do you ask?" I questioned.

        Mrs. Roosevelt sighed. "Chloe, you're a bright girl. Your grades are prodigious, you've never missed a day of school since I became your teacher. But I can't help but notice you don't socialize with the other children. Do you have no friends?"

        "No, miss," I said. "I don't. And frankly, I don't want any either. I'm perfectly fine with being on my own. I don't need friends." I shouldered my backpack then looked back at her. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get home or Mother's going to be mad."

        I turned around and left the classroom without waiting for her reply. And I walked home.

        I coughed when I walked into the house. Smoke filled the air and crept into my lung, choking me. I covered my hand with my mouth to try to block it out, but it still made my eyes water. Evan and Lucas sat on the couch, smoke billowing from the _things_ in their hands and from their mouths. 

        I coughed and choked for a few more minutes, without then noticing, then made my way over to my little corner of the room. The only thing that really claimed it to be mine was the box fill with my small amount of clothes.

        "Where's Mom?" I asked, not looking up as I settled into my blankets. 

        "Out," Lucas said, drawing a long smoke off the thing in his hand.

        "Not for long," Evan said. "Here comes the bitch now."

        "We weren't talking about Miranda," Lucas said.

        "I know." Then they burst out in uncontrollable laughter. Then the front door burst open.

        "Shut the fuck up with that obnoxious sound," Mother growled, glaring at the boys. She stumbled over to the fridge and opened it. There was nothing in it. She whipped around.

        I quickly looked back at my book. _Be small, be small. She won't notice you if you don't move._

        "Chloe," she growled deeply. She came over to me, like a cat stalking its prey. "Why is there nothing in the fridge...?"

        "Uh, um, m-maybe b-be-c-cause w-we d-don't ha-have m-money f-for f-food?" I stuttered, dropping my book in the attempt to scoot away from her. I could feel my eyes becoming wider. 

        Then she pounced. "You ungrateful little wench!" she screamed in my face, grabbing one of my pigtails and pulling it upwards toward her. The force of it pulled me to my feet. I screamed out in pain.

         _It hurt! It hurt so much!_

        "We feed you, clothe you, give you a roof over your head and you think you can talk that way to me?!" she shouted. She shook me by my hair.

        "I-I-I'm s-s-sorry!" I sobbed. "Mother, please!"

        "AAAAgggghhhh!" she screamed, throwing me to the ground. I hit it with a thud, but didn't for a second believe I was safe. She sent a kick to my stomach and I cringed in pain, rolling in on myself. She kicked me again and again until she tired herself out. Then she grabbed me by the arm and threw me out of the house. "Be back by five with food, you little worthless bitch!"

        Then she slammed the door behind me. I sank to the ground by the wall. I knew I wouldn't be let in until I had something to feed everyone, but I didn't have money and Mother didn't give me any.

        I wanted to curl up and cry. I heard loud shouting come from the other side of the street and watched as Alexis slowly snuck out of the side door of her house. She spotted me and waved. I raised my hand in greeting, then got up and began walking.

        Well, looked like I was going to do this the old fashioned way.

        Steal.

        I walked into the nearest store without difficulty and headed to the bread aisle. I pulled a loaf down and wandered around until I came close to a family who was doing some last minute shopping. After checking out everything, I followed them to the door. 

        I counted their steps silently. When they reached the door, I'd go through at the exact same time as them, the alarm would go off, but no one would know it would be me. Because I'd be long gone.

        They reached the doors, and I pushed through with them and began at a dead run. In the distance, I could hear the alarms going off. I didn't stop until I was at my street. I keeled over, catching my breath. That was when I heard it. The scream.

        I shot into a standing position. I couldn't see into the window, but I could see the shadows through it. Alexis's house. Her father pounded on her, and I could hear her cries from where I stood. 

        I stood shock still, watching with morbid fascination or fear. I couldn't move from my spot in the dark, under the street light. And the worst part of it wasn't the crack I heard, or how loud the screams got, or the pleas to stop, or the fact no one was coming. That no one was going to save her.

         _Someone! Anyone! Help her! Stop him! Please! She's in trouble!_

        The worst part- was when they stopped. I dropped the bread, and for a good solid five minutes, I stood there, just staring at the house, wondering what happened, daring myself to hope that Alexis was okay. That she was alive.

        It didn't rain. The sky didn't darken. No clouds covered the crescent moon. Nothing changed.

        But then the shock wore off. 

        After all, what did I care? What did it matter to me?

        This was all normal, wan't it?

        I walked to my house and walked into the living room. Lucas and Evan were gone, probably out buying more drugs.

        "Mother!" I called, walking into the one room house. "I'm home!"

        My mother stepped out from behind her little wall she bought. She had a cigarette in her hand. She glared harshly at me. "What are you doing back here, brat?" she snarled. 

        I gulped and could smell the alcohol on her breath from where I stood. "Y-Y-You told me to be back home by five," I told her shakily. 

        "Yeah?" she snapped. "Well I changed my mind. Get lost, and get out of my sight."

        "B-B-But i-i-it's g-g-getting d-dark outs-side," I stuttered fearfully. We lived in the slummiest part of town, and all kinds of things could happen. While I may not have cared too much about others, I sure as hell cared about _me_.

        The CRACK! of her hand on my cheek resounded throughout the house. She forcefully grabbed my chin and made me look at her, me dropping the loaf of bread in the process. "Does. It. Look. Like. I. Care?" she growled lowly. 

        "M-Mother-" I began. That earned me a smack on my mouth and I cringed. 

        "Don't talk back to me, you ungrateful child!" she shrieked. "I take you in, out of the goodness of my heart, and this is how you repay me?!?!"

        "I-I'm s-sorry, M-Mother," I said, shamefully bowing my head. 

        "And stop that stuttering!" yelled Mother. 

        "Y-Yes." I gulped. "Yes, Mother." I felt on the peak of breaking. 

        I held my breath, hoping that it would stop the tears. But more than anything, that if I didn't breath, didn't look the beast in the eyes, I would become invisible. That she'd forget about me.

        My heart beat erratically. Time seemed to slip into eternity that I stood there under her icy, stone cold glare. I shakily began to look up from the ground.

        Then, before I knew what was happening, Mother had a knife in her hand and I was pinned to the ground. I shook under her iron, drunken hold. The knife came towards my face and I shut my eyes tight.

        I felt a burning in my cheek and I cringed. I could feel the warm blood coming down my cheek. But I didn't scream. That would only encourage her. I didn't want anymore pain...

        "Oh, don't mind that?" Mother asked with a crazed giggled. My eyes shot open.

        _No. No. Nonononono. Please no!_

        Mother took the cigarette she'd been smoking and pushed it into the palm of my hand. I couldn't help it. The burning was too much. I screamed. 

        Mother laughed wickedly. "That's more like it," she snarled. Her nails dug into the back of my shoulder painful and I whimpered. 

        "M-Mother, pl-please," I said pitifully. She pulled my shirt up and put the still burning cigarette on it. I struggled again. The thoughts running through my head were only of the pain.

        I barely even noticed when she ran the knife over my stomach. I gripped my eyes closed, in hopes that the pain would stop. I wished for escape. Then for a savoir. Then for death. Anything that would stop the pain.

        Then I again felt the cool metal against my ear. Then the pain, a ringing in my ear. And a sticky substance.

***

         I opened my eyes in shock to see Mother grinning sadistically. "That'll teach you talk back to your dear, caring mother," she said in a crazed voice, pushing herself off of me. "Now get out! Out of my house! I don't want to see your face!"

        I jumped to my feet and ran out of the hovel and didn't look back. I couldn't see for the blurred tears. I gripped my bleeding stomach. The blood soaked my shirt, but it didn't much matter at the moment. 

        I stumbled along as I ran, running into things. Falling down, picking myself back up. The ringing hadn't yet stopped, but I wasn't brave enough to reach up and feel it.

        Exhausted, I tripped and fell down in a dark ally. I clutched my knees to my chest fearfully. 

        Who knows what would happen to me? Maybe Mother would come looking for me, the she'd drag me home and cut me more. Or maybe Father would find me curled up here and decide to do his way with me right here, it wouldn't be the first time. Or Lucas, or Miranda, or even Evan. They'd find me and use it as an excuse to hit me and kick me, never mind the fact I was hurt. 

        Any of them could find me and I'd still be screwed. 

        I didn't fit in. I'd always known that. With my blonde hair and purple eyes, I didn't fit in with their dark skin, black eyes, and even blacker hair. 

        And so they all hated me. But what excuse was that to hate me? Was I not their family? Was I not their daughter, their sister? Did I not live in the same home as them, eat the same food? Live the same, despairing life?

        I did, but it didn't matter, it seems. I was worthless trash. 

        The next morning, I woke up still in the ally. My eyes were blurry and I couldn't see too well for the soot in them. But when I tried to wipe them with my hand, blood smeared with it. I then used the top of my shirt to clear my eyes.

        My hand was caked with blood from holding my stomach all night, and there were bruises on my stomach, arms, and legs. Not to mention the small nick I got on my arms.

        I reached up to feel where Mother had cut the day before. Where my ear was supposed to be, there was only dried blood. And I could hear nothing from it.

        I closed my eyes and laid down again, tears stinging my eyes. 

        I was only nine, and I already had more scars than most people I knew.

        A few hours later, when the pain in my stomach became unbearable (I couldn't tell if it was hunger or the cuts and bruises or both), I pulled myself up and stumbled back home. No one gave my battered appearance a second look.

        I found myself back on my street. The lights were off in the house. No one seemed to be there. I slipped down to the ground, my legs no longer able to support me.

        "Chloe?" a voice called. I barely had the energy to look over and notice Alexis's mother. Her eyes were bloodshot, she had a bruise forming on her cheek, and her voice was hoarse. Obviously from the argument the night before. She came over to me. "Oh, Chloe, come inside. I'll get you all cleaned up, dear."

        I didn't protest, I couldn't, as she led me inside. 

        What could I call her? Mrs.- what? What was Alexis's last name? What... had it... been...

        She sat me on the table and went into the bathroom and brought back a fairly good sized first aid kit. She brought a damp rag over to me and began to clean my wounds.

        Not a word was spoken, but she smiled kindly at me as she cleaned my wounds, as if she were sorry for the pain she didn't inflict, and the stinging that came from cleaning it.

        "I'm sorry," she said, getting a new, clean rag and putting some peroxide on it. "This is going to sting a bit, but it'll help prevent infection." She dabbed the wound on my cheek first, and it didn't hurt too badly, I barely even cringed.

        Then she got to work on my stomach wound, and I allowed my eyes to wander. I spotted a letter on the desk addressed to "Mrs. Gina Plum". Plum was an odd name, but not the oddest, I decided. After all, what could I say with a name like Riley? It wasn't that fun of a name either.

        I let out a cry when she touched a part of the cut that ran in line with a burn mark and bruise. Mrs. Plum cringed as well.

        "I'm so sorry," she said, looking down. She went over and rinsed out the blood soaked cloth. "I- I haven't treated wounds like this before. I- I don't exactly know what I'm doing." She came back with the now slightly more clean and damp cloth. She began dabbing at the wound on my head. "Harry gets a little rough sometimes, but never like this..."

        I sat still as she cleaned my head up. Each time she pressed her hand on my head, I could hear that ringing again. I felt bile rise up in my throat. I didn't want it to be real, but I knew what she would find the moment all the blood was gone.

        I wanted to jump down, tell her not to worry about me. To leave the house. To hide. I wanted to do anything to make sure she didn't see. Because if she saw, then she'd react. And if she reacted, then it would be true. It couldn't be true.

        It couldn't.

        But I sat there, and did nothing. Nothing- Nothing at all.

        Sure enough, like counting moments, the gasp came. The horror on her face which she didn't even try to hide.

        "Oh, Chloe, Chloe, Chloe," she said, reaching out a shaking hand for it. I grabbed her wrist and looked away. I could have sworn that my heart stopped beating for a second or two.

        I turned away from her so I wouldn't have to look in her broken eyes. "You don't have to," I said, my own voice raspy and hoarse. She was giving me pity, and I didn't need pity. I could stand on my own two feet, an no one would stop me.

        As soon as I loosened my grip on her wrist, she dropped her hand and her head. She sat down heavily on one of the chairs, and we sat in silence. Then, I heard a sob bubble up from Mrs. Plum.

        "I miss her," she said quietly. "I miss my little Alexis. She was a good girl, so beautiful. So kind. So smart." She looked up and looked in the direction of which I assumed to be Alexis's old room and wiped her eyes, though it did nothing to stop her flow of tears. "I keep expecting her to come out of her room, asking for breakfast. But she's not going to come back. I know that. But I also know she's in a better place, where she's not hurting anymore." Then she looked to me. "But you- you're still hurting. You live on, yet you live with the scars and pain other inflict on you."

        My stomach began feeling funny, and the bile returned. Though not for the reason it had before. I couldn't understand it!

        "That, Chloe, is not normal. It's not good. It isn't right."

        My chest hurt, and it hurt so much I had to stop myself from reaching up and grabbing my shirt from over my heart to try to quench the feeling.

        Mrs. Plum stood up and walked over to the room she'd been staring at, and the second she was in there, I spotted a messy room covered with broken dolls and books. The walls were painted an off white that was pinkish. A small, messy bed looked as if it had just been slept in.

        I felt my breathing constrict. I couldn't breathe. I felt like I was drowning. 

         _What is this feeling...?_

        Mrs. Plum came back with an old, tattered turtle in her hands. "This- This is Pina," she choked out. "Alexis- Alexis was going to give it to you. You like turtles, don't you? And it's your birthday next week." She held out the green stuffed turtle to me and I hesitantly took it from her. Turtles were, actually, my favorite animal. "You were her best friend, you know?" Mrs. Plum said, wiping at her eyes again. "She- She really cared about you, always worried for your well being. She thought of you before anyone else."

        I felt a pang in my heart. I tried gasping for air, but I couldn't breathe. 

        My chest- it hurt. It hurt worse than the cuts and burns and beatings put together. 

        Alexis... I'd never thought of her as a friend. Never. I didn't care about her. I didn't do anything last night. I didn't call for help, I didn't go try to stop it. But I cried and pleaded for the mercy of my mother when it came to _me_.

        I'd never felt any emotional connection to Alexis, but she thought of me as her _friend_. Her _best_ friend. Why?

        It was in this moment, I know, that my heart shattered, and the world as I saw it was no longer the same. 

        Every single one of Mrs. Plum's words flowed into me. Stuck into my brain. Feeding my emotions.

        No one talked about the deaths, or the pain inflicted, because it opened their eyes. Their hearts, to the pain. It didn't give them an excuse for ignoring it. It shouted at them to do something, to help. 

        I hugged Pina close to my chest. And, for the first time, I cried. 

        Mrs. Plum dressed my wounds, wrapping my head with a large white bandage. Then she fed me breakfast. And the next day, I went to school.

        Since the moment Pina had been handed to me, I hadn't put it down. That night, I had slept with it, and the next day it had gone into my backpack and had stayed there all day long.

        Until lunchtime. Some of the older kids walked by and swiped my backpack away from beside me.

        "Hey, give that back!" I shouted, reaching for it. But they were bigger than me, and held it above my reach.

        "Or what?" one boy taunted. "What you gonna do, midget?"

        I scowled at the name. I wasn't short. I was actually kinda tall for a nine year old. They were just older. 

        They laughed with each other as they threw the backpack from one to another. "Hey, what's so important in here she wants it back so bad?" one asked. He was tossed the backpack and he unzipped it.

        I paled at the thought of them finding Pina.

        And my fear came as the turtle was pulled out of the backpack. He dropped the backpack and tossed Pina from one hand to the other. 

        "Ah, looks like I found it," he said with a smirk, watching my eyes follow the turtles every move.

        "Awe, is Chloe still a wittle baby?" another questioned, waving the turtle in my face. I grabbed at it, but it was snatched out of my reach. My fingers just barely grazed its fur.

        "Stop it!" I shouted as they threw the turtle from one to another. 

        "No," the first said, roughly grabbing Pina from the boy who had it and coming toward me. 

        "Give it back," I growled as he got closer. 

        "And what are you going to do about it?" he asked, poking me in the chest with each step he took. I fell on my butt and they all laughed. 

        But I was back where I'd started, right by my lunch. 

        I picked up the fork discreetly and held it tightly in my fist. The boy turned back to me with a triumphant smirk.

        "That's right," he said. "Better to learn now than later that a little girl like you is just weak-"

        He leaned closer, then, once in reach, I stabbed the hand that held Pina. He cried out in pain and dropped it. I picked it up and began to run. Picking up my backpack as I went, I began to run as fast as I could. 

        Off the school ground, down the streets. Until I wasn't in the slums anymore. I wasn't even in the poor area. 

        But I didn't stop there. I dashed through a hole in a barbed wire fence. There was a plane a short ways away, with an open hatch. I didn't hear anything from it, so I ran to it.

        I would leave soon, as soon as I was sure that I would be safe.

        But now that I was away, I wasn't going back. They couldn't make me. 

        I walked up the ramp and settled myself between a couple of crates that were securely fastened. I rest my back against the wall and let out a sigh. No one would think to look for me here.

        But then I felt something. It was vibrating!

        I jumped to my feet. I didn't have as much time as I thought. I had to leave before it took off!

        But then I heard something. There was a muffled sound through my right ear, but my left ear was picking up two different heart beats. Two different sets of footsteps.

        Then I could hear the voices of people. "-good luck on your flight," a woman said. "I believe that he'll be satisfactory."

        "Of course," a man replied. "He passed everything with even above average results."

        The woman laughed. "Well, that is quite remarkable indeed," the woman said. "He sure is quite the catch." Then she snapped. "You! Come shut this so Abraham can take off! Now!"

        There was a loud creak, than the loud slam of metal on metal. I peeked over the top of the crate to see that I was now shut in. Whether I liked it or not, I was stuck aboard the flight.

        I groaned to myself while the muffled once again voices of the man and woman left. I settled back into the seating position I'd been in and held Pina close to me. 

        My ear popped as the plane acceded, and I decided I was fine with being on the plane. If I was going to a different state, or better a different country, it'd make it harder for them to force me back.

        Because I wasn't going back.

        With those thoughts in mind, I fell asleep. Into a deep, peaceful, dreamless sleep.

        Only to be awoken abruptly by knocking my head against one of the crates I was sitting by as the plane landed. I grumbled as I rubbed my head. I put Pina into my backpack and slipped it over my shoulders, getting ready to run the moment the door opened. 

        It creak open and I froze for a second when I heard a voice. 

        "Hey, you, leave the stuff for now! Come on, help me over here!" a man shouted. 

        "Yeah, coming," a second called back.

        "Now's my chance," I murmured. I quietly walked across the floor and took cautious steps off the ramp. I found myself in a large airplane garage. I quickly snuck away from the plane and ran to the nearest door I saw. 

        I threw it open, hoping it was going to lead outside. 

        What I saw came as a very, _very_ big surprise. 

        "This is- _wow_ ," I said breathlessly. 

        Glass door leading to different rooms. One room looked like a jungle and I counted at least seven- no eight people running around in it. There was another that led to a gym where people were working out, and another that was a fighting arena. Everyone I saw carried a weapon of some sort, but that wasn't the weirdest thing about it all. 

        They were all _kids_.

        "Wow."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chloe: Woah.  
> Marie: New?  
> Chloe: Yeah.  
> Marie: Oh, what flight?  
> Chloe: Oh, uh... Oh, hey, who's that?  
> Marie: Oh, that? She's new too. Just arrived. Her name's Emily. What's you name?  
> Chloe: Oh, uh, Chloe. Chloe R- Keeton. But just call me Coco.  
> Marie: Alright!  
> Coco: Next time, chapter 2!


	2. Lion Roar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe goes to ACCA.

               “Wow.” I couldn’t help but repeat it.

               “Watch out!” a voice yelled. I turned sharply just as a few teens came running by, a stretcher in between them and a doctor at their side.

               I quickly jumped out of the way in surprise.

               “He’s got a bullet wound to the stomach, and a few broken ribs,” the doctor said into the thing clipped to her chest.

               I blinked at the amount of blood that was gushing from the boy’s stomach. And she said bullet?!

               Then they rounded a corner and were gone.

               I turned around, my face pale. What kind of place was this?!

               “Hello! Are you new?” a voice asked. I screamed and jumped around to see a tall girl with blonde hair and brown eyes staring back at me. She had a tablet in her hand and a pen. She chuckled at me. “A jumpy one, aren’t you?” she questioned.

               “N-No,” I said defiantly. I folded my arms and pouted. “You surprised me is all.”

               “Ah, sorry about that,” she said, patting me on the head. Then she stared at me for a moment before wrapping me up in a bone crushing hug. “You’re adorable!”

               I tensed up before I began struggling. “L-Let go of me!” I exclaimed.

               “But you’re just too cute!” she told me happily. “Just like a button!”

               “Don’t call me cute!” I shouted.

               My shouts drew attention to us for only a moment, upon seeing the girl they went back their own business. But the girl reluctantly let me go anyway.

               “You never answered my question,” she told me. “I’ve never seen you before, have I? That must mean you’re new, doesn’t it?”

               “Uh- Uh, y-yeah,” I stuttered. I knew very well I shouldn’t have been there, but I also got the feeling that if they knew that, I’d be in a butt load of trouble. And besides, I’d never been here before. So I _was_ new.

               “Oh, good thing I found you then!” she said, standing up and taking a more professional look. “My name’s Maria, and I’m in charge of directing the newbies to their dorms and getting their classes and keys and such set up.”

               “O-Oh,” I said, blinking at her slowly.

               Maria cleared her throat before continuing. “So, what’s your name?” she asked.

               “M-My name…?” I asked. Maria nodded.

               “That’s what I said.”

               “Chloe R- Keeton. Chloe Keeton,” I said, deciding on a name. But then it registered: If I’m going to get rid of my past, I have to get rid of my name. My whole name. “But you can just call me Coco.”

               Maria smiled brightly at me as she typed it in. “Coco, then,” she said. She pointed her pen at me. “Age?”

               “Uh, nine,” I said. “Turning ten in five days.”

               “Oh, nice,” she said, smiling as she typed it in. “Preferred sport?”

               “Erm…” I hesitated. “I’ve never played much sports…”

               “Oh, well, it’s required that you have two here,” Maria explained. “Keeps your mind focused and your body active. We have a large selection. Baseball, basketball, karate, ice skating, ballet, soccer, rugby, track. What would you prefer?”

               “Track,” I said automatically. After all, I’d run away. Wasn’t I good at that? “And… ballet…?”

               “Okay!” Maria said, stilling jotting things down. She took a measuring tape off of her waist and flicked it. It extended and she continued talking. “What languages would you be interested in learning?”

               “Uh…” I was drawing a blank. Me, learn another language? The idea seemed laughable. I’d never even though of doing so. It wasn’t as if I grew up in the kind of life where I’d need it. “Um, Latin and Greek?” I said. “Um… Spanish.”

               “Oh?” Maria asked, flicking her wrist again. The measuring tape went zipped back and she hooked it onto her belt again. “Why those?”

               “Latin isn’t a very common language, I’ve always liked Greek mythology, and I’d like to go to Spain sometime,” I said.

               Maria shrugged then nodded. “It works,” she said. “Okay, so what kind of fighting style? Long range or up close and personal?”

               I could feel my face pale. Up close… and… personal?

               I shook my head mentally. If I was going to make this work, I’d have to get over that. I couldn’t focus on it. But I still didn’t want to get that close again.

               Then I thought of my pencil throwing. I was a pretty good aim, and I could probably throw knives well enough.

               “Long range,” I said. Maria nodded then looked back at her tablet.

               “Hmm, funny,” she muttered slowly. “I can’t find you in the system…” Then she shrugged then held her tablet up. “Must be a malfunction. I’ll get them to look at it later. Smile!” she said cheerily.

               “Wh-What?” I asked. Then a bright light went off in my face, making me have to blink away the spots. A card shot out of something on Maria’s side, right by the measuring tape, and a paper slowly came out of the top of the laptop.

               “Here you go!” Maria said, holding them out for me. “This is your schedule for the next week, and this is your ID card. Wherever your hand doesn’t work, that should let you in. Now, just to find you a room…”

               Maria looked intensely at her tablet for a few minutes, and I just stood there dumbfounded.

               “Maria!” a girl exclaimed. Both of us turned sharply to the sound. A girl with blonde hair dyed green at the ends and blue eyes came over to us. She let out a shriek. “I can’t do it anymore! I’m leaving Wren’s room and moving in with Jennice!”

               “B-But Indigo-!” Maria exclaimed, reaching out for the other girl as she stalked away.

               “Deal with it!” Indigo exclaimed.

               Maria sighed, then groaned, then face planted on the ground. “My life is over,” she muttered. “That’s the tenth one for Wren.”

               Then she shot up and grinned at me.

               “Coco…” she said. I backed up a step.

               “Wh-What?” I asked, not liking the look in her eyes at all.

               “Looks like I just found you a room!” she said happily. “Wren Kwan is lovely, really, and you’ll just along with her marvelously! Trust me!”

               I gave her a skeptical look.

               “No, really,” she said, turning me around and beginning to push me away. “So, anytime you want your ID picture retaken, just come see me. After a while, you can and I’m sure you’ll want to with those bandages on your head.”

               “O-Oh,” I said, reaching up and feeling them. They were still snuggly fitted to my head, just as Mrs. Plum had put them on the day before. I’d completely forgotten about it.

               “By the way, why are you out of the infirmary if you’re injured?” Maria asked curiously.

               “Oh, um, erm, uh,” I said, stuttering and struggling to come up with a good explanation. A doctor would definitely know that I didn’t belong. “They… let me go… Because I’m fine besides this!”

               Maria shrugged. We exited the main hall and came to a series of corridors. Then she took her pen a wrote a number on her hand. “I’ve got to go check on the other new arrivals, but this is your room number. As long as you’re in the system, you should be able to get in through any level one clearance areas. This includes your room and all the classroom, many of the training areas, and of course the bathroom and all the libraries.”

               I nodded slowly. It wasn’t until Maria had left that I gulped and turned the other way to which we were going.

               How the heck am I supposed to get into my room? I’m not supposed to be here! I don’t belong here! Oh, they’re sooooo going to find me out sooner rather than later.

               I took a deep breath and headed off. The doors I passed all had one thing in common: no knobs, but the same hand scanner in the middle of the door.

               I counted off the room as I passed, reaching two fourteen too soon for my liking.

               I hesitated slowly, dreading what would happen as soon as I touched the pad. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, looking away as I reached out.

               I jumped when I heard a beep. I turned sharply and saw that it had turned green. In surprise, I pushed open the door.

               A girl with amber colored hair and eyes so dark, they looked black sat on one bed on the opposite side of the room, large headphones on her head. She turned to me, pushing her headphones down.

               “Replace Indigo already?” she asked, popping some bubblegum.

               “Uh- Y-Yes. Yes, they did,” I said. I pulled myself up to my full height and attempted to seemed brave and strong.

               “Whatever,” she said. “Don’t irritate me.”

               I blinked at her as she turned away to the game in her hands. I walked into the room and over to the bed.

               “Shut the door,” Wren commanded.

               I did as I was told without thinking. Then I went over to the empty and barren bed and sat on it. I pulled my backpack off and looked at my schedule.

               “Hey, kid that all you got?” Wren questioned. I looked up at her, then back at my backpack.

               “Yeah,” I answered. “I- don’t need anything else.”

               “Tch,” Wren said, rolling her eyes. “You’ll be getting more stuff anyway in no time.”

               I didn’t answer her, only turned back to look at my backpack. I reached for it and pulled out Pina. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Wren raise an eyebrow at me, but she didn’t say a word.

               Her heartbeat didn’t increase or decrease, but I couldn’t have said what that meant anyway.

               I hadn’t even noticed when I’d began to keep track of that.

               Wren turned away from me and left me to my own devices. I laid down on the bare mattress, waiting for sleep to overtake me once again.

               There was too much that had gone on today, and my brain felt like it was going to explode. I wanted to go to sleep, to sleep it all away.

               But I didn’t hope it to be a dream. Never. Even if it was dream, I hoped I would never wake up. Any dream is better than my reality.

***

               I was drowning. Drowning in the blackness of silence. The screams made me cover my ears, but they penetrated my hands.

               I was falling in the black tide, fighting a current I couldn’t win against.

               And then- I spotted a light in the darkness.

               A gentle light, and a voice singing. It was a woman’s voice, warming my heart. Then there was a light laugh, a giggle really.

               I opened my mouth as if to call out for her, but no sound was heard. I ran towards the light, but fell to my knees. I reached out for the light, but I grasped at nothing.

               No hand reached in to pull me out.

               Then, like a strong wind whipping my hair and clothes around me, the light was snuffed out and I was left in darkness.

               I awoke to something being hit on my head. I groggily opened my eyes to see Wren standing over me with a glare on her face.

               “Get up, midget,” she ordered. “It’s time for class.”

               I rubbed my head and yawned. Then I glared at her where she’d hit me with the book in her hand. “I’m nine,” I said grouchily. “Not short.”

               “Tch, keep getting younger every year,” she muttered, turning away to her dresser.  
“What time is it anyway?” I asked, yawning and rubbing my eyes. My internal clock was telling me that it was really early, and I was usually asleep at this time.

        “Five thirty,” Wren answered, not turning back. She dug through it before tossing a couple pieces of clothing to me.

        “Five thirty?!” I exclaimed, catching them only slightly. They stick knocked me back slightly with the force they were thrown with. “Who the hell is up at five thirty in the morning?!”

        “Us, dumbass. Get used to it. Now, put those on,” she told me. “You’re not allowed to wear- that out there.”

        I grumbled under my breath as I looked down at my outfit. I didn’t see anything wrong with it. Sure, it was worn and torn in a few places, but compared to some of the others back home, these were pretty nice jeans and a very good shirt.

        Scratch that, that wasn’t home anymore. It was better than _that_ place.

        I held up the clothing that had been thrown at me. A black, long sleeved shirt with a dark purple stripe down each arm and the collar that buttoned around the neck. And a pair of pants I assumed that was supposed to be fitting.

        I got to my feet and began to pull of my shirt. Wren stared at me, her arms folded.

        “Can you, um, can you not look?” I asked.

        “We’re both girls, dumbass, just get on with it,” she said with a scoff.

        I gave in to defeat and began to self-consciously undressed under Wren’s stare. But I couldn’t face her while doing it. I turned my back to her and pulled my shirt off. My face beet red and completely heated the whole time.

        Before I could pull the borrowed shirt over my head, Wren caught my arm.

        “What the _hell_ is on your back?” she questioned.

        I allowed my arms, with the shirt in my hands, to drop. “I’d rather not talk about it,” I said softly, not looking back. I knew my back had a lot of scars. Some of them were pretty nasty. I had spots on my skin that were permanently black from cigarette butts.

        Wren let go of my arm. “Not that I really care,” she said. Out of the corner of my eye I could see her leaning against the doorframe, a sucker stick hanging out of her mouth. “But I’m a pretty good tattoo artist. I could hide some of those for you.”

        I pulled the shirt and pants on then turned to her. “Really?” I questioned. Wren shrugged before placing her hand on the panel. The door popped open.

        “Whatever, really,” she said. “Let’s get going, brat.” I began to follow. “And don’t forget your schedule unless you want to be lost all day.”

        I quickly grabbed the crumpled paper from on my bed.

        “I still think this is a ridiculous time to be awake,” I said, yawning and stretching as we walked. The pants were way too long (to accommodate Wren’s freakishly long legs, I suppose), and bagged around my sneakers.

        Wren scoffed and hit me upside the head. “You’re being obnoxious,” she told me. “Shut up.”

        I growled at her and rubbed my head. _How rude._

“You’ll get used to it. Everyone wakes up at five thirty, and classes don’t get over until nine.”

        I paled considerably. _How the hell am I going to live through that?!_

“Well, this is your door,” Wren said, looking over my head at a door to my side. I looked over at it before turning my head up to her.

        “Huh?”

        “I looked at your schedule last night while you were sleeping,” she said unabashedly. “You sleep like a log, you know.”

        A shiver ran up my spine.

_This girl has no filter!_

“Well, uh, than-“ I began.

        “Whatever.” Before I’d even finished, Wren took off down the hall. I gulped slightly before turning to the door.

        I pushed it open and found myself outside. The crisp morning air hit my skin and I had to suppress a shiver.

        “Hey, Coco!” called a voice. I turned to see Maria in a pink jogging suit waving to me by a group of other kids. Her blonde hair seemed to have turned golden in the lights from the side of the building.

        I walked over to the others slowly. Maria ran to meet me and dragged me over to the group of girls she’d been talking to.

        “This is the cutie I was telling you about!” Maria told them excitedly.

        I brushed her off and scowled. “Don’t call me cute,” I snapped, pouting grumpily. This was just not my morning.

        I was hungry, I was tired, and it was waaaaaay too early to be awake.

        “Awwweee,” the three other girls squealed, getting in my face. “Soooo cute!”

        Alarmed, I jumped back and hid behind Maria. “Don’t call me cute!” I exclaimed. I stuck my tongue out, but soon realized that it didn’t help matters any.

        Maria chuckled and messed with my hair. “Girls, this is Coco,” Maria said, patting me on the head. I still stuck behind Maria, griping her jogging shirt tightly in my fists. “Coco, these are the girls. Indigo you met yesterday.” Maria pointed to her and she gave me a thumbs up.

        “Maria told me she stuck you in with Wren,” Indigo said. “Good luck, kid. She’s a monster.”

        I nodded and Maria pointed to the next girl. “That’s Jennice,” Maria said, pointing to a girl with dyed purple hair. I could tell it was dyed by the red eyebrows. Jennice gave me a smile.

        “Yo,” she said, ruffling my head with a smile. She produced a lollipop from her pocket and held it out. “Want one?”

        I could feel my mouth watering at the prospect of having something in my stomach. And the taste of my first sweet…

        I snatched it quickly and stuck it in my mouth. The older girls laughed as I turned my head away, my cheeks turning red again.

        “And this girl here is Cary, but we call her Ace,” Maria said, indicating to the last girl. Underneath her right eye, there was a red diamond painted. Ace grinned at me, her hands deep in her jacket pockets.

        “The Ace of Diamonds,” she said. “Number one.”

        “All of us have card code names,” Jennice said, shrugging. “But Ace is the only one that goes by hers.”

        “Alright, nuggets, get over here!” a stern woman’s voice shouted.

        “Oh, looks like Coach is here,” Maria said, looking behind her. Then she smiled at me. “Coach may seem kinda mean, but she’s good at heart.”

        They led me away to the main crowd. Dislodging myself from the middle of Maria and her friends, I crawled my way to the front. The woman in the middle of all the people was an old looking woman, graying hair in pixie cut.

        She wore a black track suit and held a clipboard in her hands. And even though it was still dark out, she wore sunglasses on her face.

        “Right then,” she said. “Six laps around the track today, and no breakfast until you do!”

        Everyone broke apart and began stretching and I headed back to the others. “Um, Maria?” I asked. “How big’s the track?”

        I couldn’t even see the other side from here. “Two miles,” Maria said, stretching down her legs.

        My jaw dropped. “So we have to go around that six times?!” I exclaimed. “That’s twelve miles! I’ve never walked that far in my life, let alone run!”

        “Better get stretching,” Jennice said, stretching her arms. “Coach has us get going as soon as the gun goes off.”

        I looked around at the others, not exactly knowing what to do. “I- I’ve never actually done this before…”

        “Watch me,” Maria said kindly, stretching and going slow enough so I could copy her. The others helped correct me when I wasn’t in a good enough position.

        By the time we’d gotten done stretching, I was still more sore than I’d like to be.

        Then Coach let off the sound of the gun. And I had no choice but to run.

        For a few seconds, I kept up with Maria and the others.

        Then I was left behind in the dust.

        I wasn’t even a quarter of the way around my first time when I had to double over and take a few deep breaths. I could tell others were newbies too by the way they were doing the same. But the majority of them were already running up behind me, on their second lap.

        I collapsed where I stood and groaned. “I’m never gonna make it,” I groaned.

        “Don’t say that,” Maria said, jogging up behind me. “Come on, I’ll do the rest with you.”

        “I’m so slow you’ll be walking the whole time,” I whined. Maria chuckled.

        “Well, it’s nice to change it up once in a while,” she told me. She took my arm and helped me to my feet. “Just take it slow, Coco.”

        I began jogging, not going as fast as I had, but not at a walk either. As I had suspected, Maria was walking just to keep by my side the whole time. But I was still breathing irregularly.

        “Think of a song,” Maria said, leaning over to me as we walked and smiling. “Music really helps with the beat and rhythm of your steps.”

        I shook my head. “I don’t have any songs I like,” I said, looking forward.

        I can’t actually tell her the reason why…

        Maria shrugged and began singing. “ _You’re on the phone with your girlfriend, she’s upset. She’s going off about something that you said. Because she doesn’t get your humor like I do_.” Maria continued to sing a few more lines then turned to me and smiled. “See? Just like that. Your rhythm’s gotten better already. Do you like the song?”

        “I recognize it,” I said. “I just don’t know who it’s by or any of the lyrics. I don’t listen to music much.”

        Maria’s jaw dropped. “You don’t know any of the songs by the great Taylor Swift?!” she exclaimed. “This is unacceptable!”

        I strained to make myself listen as Maria went off about Taylor Swift and her music. I really couldn’t care less.

        But it took my mind off the running and, what felt like hours later, I’d finished the jog.

        Indigo, Jennice, and Ace were waiting when we’d finished.

        “Come on,” Ace said. “Let’s go eat. I’m starving!”

        My stomach growled loudly and I clutched it sheepishly. The girls all cooed at my bashfulness, and I glared at them.

        Then they laughed and pulled me into the cafeteria.

        I groaned in pain as I sat down with a tray full of eggs, bacon, and muffins. I also had some strawberries on the side, dropped in whipped cream, and a mug of hot chocolate.

        I hadn’t actually chosen any of my food, I’d spent so long ogling at all the food that the others had chosen it for me.

        I stared wide eyed at my food. I wanted to eat- but I’d never seen this much food for myself in my life. It was strange.

        And it had such a pleasing aroma. I knew that the moment I went and took a bite, I’d shovel it all down way too quickly, and then the smell would be gone.

        “Go on, eat up,” Indigo prompted. “Next class begins in less than half an hour.”

        I nodded and took a tentative bite. My face lit up when the light texture and delicious taste of scrambled eggs hit my mouth.

        “This is amazing!” I exclaimed, digging in. I attempted to slow down so I could preserve the smell, but it was no use.

        The others watched me in amusement as I ate. “Hey, don’t you like chocolate?” Jennice asked, pointing to my cup.

        I stared at it, whipping my mouth before shaking my head and looking at the little food left on my plate. “I- I don’t know,” I said truthfully. “I’ve never had chocolate.”

        “What?!” Ace exclaimed, slamming her utensils down. “No way! That’s crazy! Take a drink, I’m sure you’ll like it.”

        I hesitantly reach forward and picked up the cup. I took a sip of the warm liquid and could feel it spreading to every inch of my body.

        I closed my eyes and breathed a sigh of content.

        Then the warm sensation depleted. I gulped the rest of it down, trying to get the feeling back.

        It was mostly gone before I realized it was burning my tongue and throat. “Hot, hot, hot!” I exclaimed, jumping to my feet and dropping the cup. “Hot, hot, very hot!”

        I stuck my tongue out of my mouth and began blowing on it to try to take the burning away. The girls laughed at me as I danced around.

        “You could have told me that was going to happen,” I said, my tongue still out of my mouth.

        They continued to laugh as I glared at them.

        “You guys are really mean to me,” I muttered, looking away. Maria chuckled as she stood.

        “Well, class is about to start for you guys, and I’ve got to start my rounds,” she said. “We’ve got about six new recruits today.”

        “Let’s hope the system doesn’t glitch like it did yesterday,” Indigo said, also standing. “That could cause a whole lot of problems.”

        A shiver ran up my spine again. They were talking about what happened with me the day before.

        “Don’t worry, I had Todd check it out yesterday so it didn’t happen today,” Maria said happily. “He said everything looked fine, and it shouldn’t have glitched yesterday.”

        I picked up my tray and followed Maria to put it up. I groaned as we walked. I felt sore in places I didn’t know could get sore.

        “Are we going to really have to do that _every day_?” I whined.

        Maria chuckled as she put her tray up. She put mine up as well since I was too short. “No way,” she said. I breathed a sigh of relief. “Every other day.” I groaned again. “Today are your elective days,” Maria explained as we walked out of the cafeteria. “Today, you go to all these bunch of classes to see what you’re good at and can specialize in. You won’t go back to the ones you can’t do or can’t handle.”

        I nodded as we walked out of the cafeteria. But then something caught my eye.

        Wren sat in a corner table, all alone. But what caught my eye was the tears dried on her cheeks.

        I tugged slightly on Maria’s sleeve as we left. “Maria, why did the others call Wren a monster?” I asked.

        Maria took her tablet out of her pocket (though I’d never know how it fit in there, unnoticeable) and began doing stuff on it as she walked.

        “Wren has been through roommate after roommate,” Maria explained. “And for a few pretty simple reasons. She’s possessive, an extreme neat freak, blunt, and pretty rude sometimes. But put all together, and on an extreme scale, it’s usually too much for people.”

        I looked back towards the cafeteria and wondered if Wren actually had any friends.

        But then I shook my head internally. I didn’t need friends, and they’d only hinder me. I couldn’t let myself get attached to anyone.

        “Come on, let’s get you some clothes,” Maria suggested, ruffling my hair. “Wren’s don’t seem to fit you very well, and you have a few classes that require specific clothes.” I batted her hands away but nodded.

        “Right. Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coco: This is downright ridiculous.  
> Maria: You look precious!  
> Coco: I look like a clown.  
> Indigo: Is that your ballet outfit?  
> Ace: Oh my gosh, you look so cute!  
> Coco: Don't call me cute!  
> Indigo, Ace, Maria, Jennice: Kawaii!  
> Coco: Next time, chapter 3! Help me!


	3. Lion Pride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More people join the fray, and Coco is tested. In many way.

        I looked at the _thing_ Maria held up with disgust.

        "You've _got_ to be kidding me," I deadpanned. "I'm not wearing that."

        "Oh, come on," Maria whined. "It's adorable!"

        "It's disgusting," I said, pinching the bottom of it only barely. 

        We were going through the closet of clothes that was provided for all students at the academy (I'd decided that's what it was, because I really wasn't positive) and at the moment, we were looking for my things for ballet.

        Which I was highly regretting choosing.

        The leotard Maria held up now was a dark purple, scattered with bright yellow stars going from the shoulder down. And that wasn't even the worst. The sleeves were ruffles. Nothing else, just ruffles.

        I held up a light pink, almost white, one. "Why can't I just take this one?" I questioned. "It's plain and ordinary, and won't make me look like a clown."

        "It's too big," Maria told me plainly. "There's no other ones here in your size. You're younger than everyone else here, so it's difficult to find things that fit you."

        I sighed glumly. "Can't you find someone to fit this, then?" I whined. 

        "Probably, but it'll only be gotten to you tomorrow, and you have ballet after Greek I," Maria said. "So you need a leotard _today_."

        "Fine." I snatched the leotard from Maria and she took the pink one from my hands. She smiled happily at me as she left.

        "I'll have this taken to the theater department so it can be fitted for you," she told me. "You can look around for some leisure clothes. Just give it to the front table and they'll get everything to your classes and room."

        I nodded and looked around. It was then that something caught my eye.

        I walked down the rows of clothing until I came upon what I'd spotted. It wasn't marvelous, if anything, it was quite plain. I picked it up from where it's fallen on the floor. 

        The only thing about it that made it remarkable at all would have to be how remarkably dirty it was, or the stars at the end of the strings around the hood. 

        A plain white sweater, the pockets and wrists lined with a very, very pale pink. But it was extremely dirty. Though dirty it was, I pulled it on.

        It was much too large and baggy, falling around my knees and going much longer than my arms. But it was warm, and oh so comfortable. I hugged myself and couldn't help but smile. 

        I hummed in content. It was possibly the best thing I could have found here.

        But still needing other clothes, I went along to find at least a few things that would be suitable. Maria had explained to me on the walk here that in a week or so, she'd take me to the costume department of theater and they'd make me my own custom clothes.

        Until then, I had to rely on the closet.

        I heard the giggling of a few other girls and hid behind a shelf of shirts. As I peered through the spots, I saw them looking at the dresses. 

        "Wow, look at this!" one of the girls cried, holding up an extravagant dress. "I mean, seriously! Hannah really went all out for this one!"

        I slowly backed away from them, not wishing to be caught in the sweater. It was my own private thing. Mine and only mine.

        And I didn't want them to call me cute. I mean, of course I was. I wore my hair in pigtails, I was blonde, I was a kid. All of those always added up to cute.

        I just didn't like it being pointed out.

        It took a few minutes, but I eventually found some things I'd wear. And I found a couple of the outfits for my athletic classes.

        When I brought the clothes up to the table, a boy sat in a chair, his feet on the table, and a comic book covering his face.

        "U-Um, hello," I said. I cleared my throat. "Hello?"

        There was no response. I listen carefully for a moment, and made out gentle snoring.

        I sighed before pulling myself up onto the table. I sat myself down cross legged and stared at him for a moment. But he didn't wake. 

        So I went to the next level. I pushed his feet off the table. The loud thud resounded through the closet, but he still didn't wake up. His body was now half off the chair, but he was still snoring.

        Groaning in irritation, I got on my and and knees and leaned into his face.  I opened my mouth wide and shouted as loudly as I could "WAAAAAKE UUUUPPP!!!"

        The boy jolted up, and bright blue eyes shot open. We bonked heads and I was sent falling backwards. Immediately, the boy jumped forward and grabbed me around the waist to prevent me from falling off the table. My pile of clothes went everywhere from the momentum and landed on the ground.

        I blinked up at him in surprise. 

        He flashed a smile at me. "And that's why you don't climb on tables unless you know what you're doing," he told me. He pulled me up and righted me. 

        I puffed out my cheeks and glared at him, patting down my clothes. "Well, you weren't waking up," I told him. I hugged myself closer in my new jacket.

        He laughed. "Yeah, sorry about that," he said, running a hand through his half black, half blonde hair. He flashed me another brilliant smile. "I'm Chase. You're new, right?"

        "How could you tell?" I asked sarcastically. 

        He evidently didn't pick up on it. "The baggy suit, the sneakers, the bandages, and the fact I've never seen you before," he told me. He grinned. "And the fact you're not in the database."

        My heart began beating rapidly. "Wh-What are you-" I began, but he cut me off. 

        He winked and held a finger to his lips. "I know everything," he said. "I'm not going to tell. I'm not in there either." I blinked at him quickly. He was lying. 

        He had to be.

        I decided to call him on his bluff. "You're lying." I was confident I was right. I knew I wasn't in the database, but the information should only have been shared with the kid Maria called Todd, Maria, and the others. He had no way at all of knowing, which put it at he was only pulling at straws. 

        Though his outer facade didn't change, I could hear his heart beat pick up. It was just barely, but I could hear it.

        "Whether or not I'm in the database doesn't matter," I told him bluntly, not changing any emotion in my voice. "But the fact is, _you_ have to be. You can't get into any of the classrooms or your room unless you're print is in the system. Which, ironically, I can. And unless you're really clever, which I highly doubt, you have to be able to as well."

        This was true. I assumed I was a fluke, but in such a high tech organization, more than one fluke was impossible.

        Chase's eyes widened slowly, then his mouth. And he let out a hearty laugh. "Y-You got me good there," he said, holding his stomach. "You really found that out quick, didn't you?"

        I remained silent. 

        He gave me an amused look. "Seriously, kid, not many pass a test that quick," he told me, leaning on the desk. I looked down at him.

        "I'm not ' _kid_ '," I stated. "It's Chlo- Coco."

        "Adjusting to a new name?"

        "None of your business."

        Chase let out another laugh. "Of course, you're right," he told me. He took the stack of clothes from the table and stood. "I'll get these to their correct places. I can take the jacket too-"

        "No," I said, a little to quickly. I grabbed the hem of the jacket tightly in my hands. "I'll keep this with me." Chase shrugged and walked off a couple steps before I called out to him. "Chase?"

        He turned back towards me. "Yeah? What's up?"

        "What did you- What did you mean by I passed a test?" I questioned. 

        He smirked in an amused fashion. "Some of the older students here are given jobs to test students to see if they keep their guard up," he said. "It's one of those things. See how well you see though lies, how well you lie."

        I nodded slightly before he turned and left again. I took up my schedule, ballet uniform, and map and left the closet.

        After changing into my leotard (and hiding it under my large jacket, knew it would come in useful), I began trying to find my class.

        The map Maria had given me was littered with side notes and different words that were so confusing because they were so mushed together, I couldn't even tell if I was looking at it the right way.

        I finally made my way to Greek 1, and the class went okay. I managed to hide the dumb leotard through the whole class and even caught onto a couple of words. Nothing to brag about, though.

        The the class I'd been dreading. Ballet. I couldn't, for the life of me, remember why I chose it. First off all, it was hard to find. Second, I was sure I was going to look like an idiot.

        Finally, though, I made my way to the gym areas and followed all the others in leotards to the ballet room, the teacher's name posted on the door. I slipped in behind some other girls and stood in the background.

        Luckily I wasn't late, but I still had no idea what to do. As soon as the teacher, Madame Valdez, entered the room, everyone lined up next to the mirrors with the long pole thingies. 

        I could barely reach it. It wouldn't do much to support me. And I couldn't help but notice how much I stood out. In my outlandish leotard, and my hair down instead of the buns the other girls wore. 

        I just held my breath, hoping no one would notice.

        I struggled along as the others did their stretches. My legs wouldn't go as high, I couldn't bend as far. I couldn't even stand on my toes. 

        My movements got rougher the more class went on and the more irritated I grew. 

        My chest felt tight from being breathless. Everyone moved so quickly from one thing to the next. My mind, let alone my body, couldn't keep up. 

        Beads of sweat fell from my forehead as a doubled over by the rail as the others got ready to leave. My breathing was ragged and I struggled to get it under control. 

        I closed my eyes as I gulped down the air. I doubted I'd be able to go ahead with this. If track was going to be torture, ballet was hell on earth.

        My knees buckled and I fell to the ground. I breathed a sigh of happiness when my cheek hit the cool floor. 

        "Child, get up."

        I was shocked out of my state and jumped to my feet, my hair getting in my face. I quickly moved it out of the way so I could look at the woman in front of me.

        Her thin lips were pursed and grey eyes looked down at me.

        "Who are you?" she questioned. "You have not been in my class before."

        "I- I'm Coco," I said, struggling to keep the stutter out of my voice. "I'm new."

        "Hmph," she scoffed and tapped her staff on the floor. I stood, stiff as a board, as she circled me like a raptor ready to strike. "Hmm. Small body, fair features. How old are you?"

        She lightly smacked me on the back, just enough to sting.

        "I'm nine, ma'me," I told her, not turning to look at her. She was emitting a very serious aura. 

        "Hmm. I have not taught a student this young in many years," she muttered to herself, now standing in front of me and giving me a once over. "A ripe age for starting. Good, long legs. Hmm. Tiny feet. Might need some work until those grow."

        I blushed a bright red under her scrutiny. It's not as if it were my fault I was small. 

        Madame Valdez was quiet for a few long moments and I began to get fidgety. 

        Then she snapped her head up and looked at me. "You will be taking private lessons with me from now on," she ordered. "You will be here from eight thirty until ten. You will need to get a different garb to practice in and I will not tolerate this hair being down. It restricts your vision and distracts you. Cut it off or put it up, I don't care. Now go. Your next class is waiting."

        I nodded quickly and scrammed out of the room. I pulled my jacket over my leotard clad body and zipped it up all the way. It fell around my knees and covered me up pretty nicely. I stuffed the clothes Wren had allowed me to borrow into my large pockets and stuck my hands in afterwards. 

        The jacket was nice and warm. 

        Not remembering what my next class was, I pulled out my schedule. "Latin, great," I muttered grumpily. I pouted my lips as I stuck the paper back in my pocket. 

         _At least it isn't math._

        I got through the day, exhausted out of my mind. I stumbled into my room and fell face first onto my bed, not even noticing the stuff on it at first. 

        I groaned into the bed. 

        "Awe, day too tough for the little baby?" Wren teased from her own bed. I lifted my head only enough to speak.

        "Shut up," I groaned before flopping my face down.

        "Ah, little girl's got a backbone," Wren said. I couldn't tell what was in her voice. Pride? No, amazement? Possibly. Amusement? Most likely. My brain was too fried to think too hard on it.

        I rolled over and cringed when my head hit something hard. I sat up, rubbing the side of my head as I looked down at the bed. 

        What my head had hit was a shoe box. There were actual sheets, blankets, pillows, and pillowcases on the bed. In different shades of pink and purple no less. Well, the purple I didn't mind. The pink was itching me the wrong way.

        But there were also the same clothes I'd looked for earlier, all clean and laundered. There was also a new backpack, almost identical to my own, filled with new supplies. What I found interesting about the new pack though was strapped inside the side pockets were knives. 

        "Oh, cool," Wren said, looking over my shoulder. "Always preferred blades myself as well. Short hand?"

        "Long distance," I said softly, picking up one of the knives. Wren nodded. She popped a piece of gum in her mouth and began chewing as I continued to look through my things. 

        The shoes were plain black sneakers for the most part, with dark purple laces and lightning bolts on the outer sides. I also got three outfits similar to Wren's, like the one she'd lent me. But the shirts were long sleeve, short sleeve, and tank top. Then I got regular two pairs of length pants and a pair of shorts. 

        "You should put your stuff away and get some rest, kid. Or you're gonna regret it tomorrow," Wren said, laying back on her bed and putting an arm behind her head while the other rested on her stomach.

        "Y-Yeah," I said, standing. I looked around the room and Wren tched her tongue.

        "The dresser on the left is unused," she told me. "It's yours."

        "Right, thanks," I said, taking as much as I could hold into my arms. I neatly folded my clothes and put them in the dresser. My heart swelled each time I opened an empty drawer. 

        This dresser is mine. Completely mine. I don't have to share it with anyone. My first dresser...

        I pulled off my jacket and slipped out of my leotard, pulling on a pink shirt and matching pair of shorts that were decorated with turtles. 

        Wren snickered when she saw my attire. "You really are such a kid," she said, moving the arm from her stomach to her eyes.

        "I'm nine, what did you expect?" I asked, quirking an eyebrow. I held Pina close to my chest and climbed into the bed. It was softer than any bed I slept on, and I figured it was going to be the reason I wasn't going to sleep well. The blankets and sheets were so warm and safe feeling, I let myself be enveloped in the feeling.

        I closed my eyes and allowed my drowsiness. 

        "Night, kid," Wren said, and I could hear the smirk in her voice. 

        "Good night... Wren..."

        And I fell into a dreamless sleep, feeling like I was floating on air. 

        Sure enough, as Madame Valdez had said, I'd be spending a LOT of alone time with her. Maria came up to me the next day and gave me my new schedule. That wasn't the only new change. And by the end of the week, I'd turned ten.

        Six months later, I allowed Wren to put my first tattoo on me. It hurt. Like. Hell. Not as bad as some of the injuries I'd suffered in my years, but close enough. The tattoo Wren gave me was at the base of my neck, just a simple star to cover a scar I'd received from my mother's cigarette. 

        By day I spent the majority of my free time with Maria and the other cards. I learned that the four of them were the main four, but there was in all fifty three. All of the others were backups, and most had other teams because they were in reserve so often.

        But by night, I talked to Wren. According to Maria, I was the first to spend this long with her. But talking is not actually an accurate word... There wasn't any "bonding" or such in our words. "Bickering" is probably more accurate. She called me "kid" and refused to call me anything else. I called her an idiot. But still she drew the tattoos she wanted to put on me and often showed them to me.

        I guess I could we "figured each other out" a bit. I won't say bonded, because there was no emotional attachment. But occasionally while she sketched, she'd asked me what I liked of this kind of thing. Favorite color. Those kinds of things. It was an unspoken rule we didn't talk about pasts, so we didn't ask.

        I was eleven when I first saw her. 

        I didn't know her name when I first saw her enter the academy from the air garage. She didn't carry anything with her. Her black hair was long and shiny, but not taken care of well. It hadn't been in a while. Her feet were bare, and she wore only a simple white shirt and pair of jeans, both of which were too baggy on her. 

        The single glance I caught of her eyes shocked me. I'd never seen someone living with eyes as dead as hers. 

        It was a week before I'd get the chance to speak with her. 

        I snuck out of my dorm, Wren still up reading for an assignment due the next day, and went to the kitchens. You were allowed wherever, whenever. As long as you didn't get caught. Those were the rules. 

        When I entered the kitchen, I froze at the sight of her standing in the middle of the kitchen, her eyes more alive than I'd ever seen them. But they were alive with madness, and she clutched kitchen knife in her hand.

        I watched in shocked fascination as she gripped a lock of her hair, a knife close to her neck. It was impossible to see if she was aiming for the hair or the skin. She didn't seem to notice me, or if she did, she didn't care. 

        She steadied the knife, gripped her eyes closed tightly, and slashed. 

        "What are you doing?!" I shouted, running to her. She'd choppily hacked off half of her hair, letting it float to the floor and gather at her feet, before I'd reached her. 

        I latched onto her arm and tried to prevent her from doing anymore damage. A thin line of blood was at the base of her neck. It was obvious what her real intentions had been.

        "Stop it!" I exclaimed. "You're going to hurt yourself!"

        _She was screaming. Screaming and crying. It didn't rain. I did nothing. I did nothing, nothing at all-_

        But she just threw me off of her and I collided into a fridge. I looked up in a daze as she cut the rest of her hair off. It took a few moments afterwards for the shock to sink in.

        She dropped the knife, then dropped to her knees. She picked up handfuls of hair as she began sobbing. She held them to her face and scream into her fistfuls of hair.

        I stood up shakily, her strength was incredible and much more than I though it'd be. 

        _Why does it matter? Isn't it normal?_

        "It's your own damn fault," I spat scornfully. "I don't see what you're going on like a baby for."

        _What am I doing? We're not friends._

        "You -You- You wouldn't understand," she snapped. The pain in her voice was evident, much more than the pain and shock she had just caused to herself. There was something else there. 

        _But what does it matter to me?_

        Besides, the new girl would learn soon enough that no one would ask. And no one was going to listen if she told, either. Most certainly not me. 

        I didn't like people. I didn't let people in. I didn't care.

        _She could truly kill herself and it wouldn't be my concern._

        I let out a huff and turned on my heel, ignoring my need for my hot chocolate (my obsession had grown since the first time: I was addicted).

        "No, I wouldn't understand your pathetic excuses for sobbing like a child," I growled. "And I don't entirely care to. Everyone here has gone through shit, so don't think you're anything special because you're not. Accept it and move on already, little girl."

        _We're not friends. It doesn't matter._

        She didn't answer me as I headed for the door. I stopped when I heard a rattle. I turned around a bit. The girl was pulling herself shakily to her feet, holding herself again the counter. A bunch of utensils were scattered about and she looked ready to collapse at any moment. 

        She looked up at me, her eyes set straight and cold. They weren't dead, they were alive. But no emotion could be sensed from them. 

        She looked at her chopped off hair before tossing it to the ground. 

        She didn't need to say a word, but I knew her meaning. She was done crying. She was going to live. She was, not going to forget or forgive, but go one.

        I turned, and she finally spoke. 

        "Sam."

        _I did nothing!_

        I turned the knob. "Coco." Then I pushed the door open and walked out of the kitchen, going back to my room.

        _But this time I did._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maria: Hmm? What's wrong with her?  
> Coco: Bullies.   
> Maria: What?!  
> Coco: Boys.   
> Maria: I don't get it.  
> Coco: Boys that are bullies, and she doesn't deal well with them. Not that I care.  
> Maria: Ha ha.  
> Coco: Next time, Chapter Four: Lion Armor.


	4. Lion Armor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New arrivals and games. A good combination, no?

#  ~~~~

        It wasn't as if I avoided her, but more like she avoided everyone.

        I didn't again hold a long conversation with Sam until we were twelve.

        Words weren't often needed in that time. We weren't friends, there was no way anyone could call us that. But she indeed seemed to seek to repay me for something.

        Of course, part of that could be a situation I'd dealt with. Something I'd noticed was she seemed to be scared of- well, guys. She was all talk and more game when it came to fighting the other girls.

        But when it came to the guys- she'd just freeze up and get this "deer in headlights" look. 

        Really kinda pissed me off.

        Anyway, this one day I'm walking to class and this group of boy is surrounding Sam and she's literally backed into a corner. 

        I could have just walked past, and I'd planned on it, but I couldn't exactly just leave her there. Something about it just didn't feel right. Maybe it was taking care of the newbies things. Wren talked about that sometimes.

        Anyway, they were saying things to her. Apparently trying to divulge her past. Find out what made her so scared of them. But geez, what a-holes.

        "Stop badgering her," I shouted at them.

        "Stay out of it, pipsqueak!" one of the boys shouted. 

        Now it was  _personal_.

        I stalked up to him and punched him in the stomach, probably a little to close to his privates for his liking. But it was his own fault. 

        "Don't you dare  _ever_ call me pipsqueak," I growled. "Or I'll give you something ten times worse."

        Then I stepped back and looked at the rest of his gang. 

        "If she's going to tell you, she will when she's ready!" I shouted at them. "Until then, stop messing with her! Or mess with someone your own size, dummies!"

        One of the boys snickered at my choice of language but pulled the rest away. Sam didn't say a thing to me, but I could feel her stare on my back.

        I didn't even look back as I walked away. 

        So there's that. 

        I hadn't grown an inch since arriving to the academy (I claimed to the Heaven's above it was the food they served, but Maria just laughed), and Sam always seemed to be there when I was in a fix.

        But nothing extraordinary happened. Not between us, anyway. But of all those who I'd seen enter the academy (and I'd seen many), there were none more memorable than that of the girl with copper hair and green eyes.

        I was walking from the infirmary, baring wraps around my left wrist from spraining it in sparing with Wren, Maria by my side. She herself held wraps, but they were hid under her shirt. 

        Most girls here had surgeries around the age of fifteen or sixteen to remove a good amount of their cleave. I was told it wasn't mandatory, but from the reactions of many of the girls I knew, it was a forced option. 

        Maria didn't look any less beautiful with them removed, but she certainly held an air about her that was more depressed. But the smile on her face could fool just about anyone.

        "Well, new arrivals today," Maria said cheerily, fixing her shirt. Her blonde hair was pulled into a high ponytail and her large brown eyes sparkled. She pulled out her tablet and set forth, me trailing after her in a kid-sister like fashion.

        Maria stopped by the door and turned to face me, her smiling faltering a bit. She reached out her hand towards my face and I almost couldn't help but flinch. I'd stopped doing that a while ago, but the natural reaction was still there.

        Maria didn't notice my reaction and picked up a strand of my blonde hair. "It's so soft," she said before dropping. She gave a sad sort of smile, the same one I'd seen since I'd first taken off the bandages covering my head for the world to see. It was disgusting to look at, I knew. "It's shame you didn't go to the infirmary right away, or you might have been able to save it."

        I shrugged nonchalantly. After all, I was the only one to know it had been cut off a few days before I'd ever arrived here. Then I gave her a smirk. "Nah, I'm good," I told her. "If I had it, I wouldn't be able to tell when someone's sneaking up on me as well."

        Maria sighed before letting out a laugh. Then she turned toward the garage door and went to open it.

        As soon as it was open, we were both sent flying. We both landed on our feet of course, and not on our butts. But the girl in front of us was strong. Apparently not strong enough to kick away the men who held her upper arms tightly, though. 

        I'd never seen someone struggling when coming here before. I watched in some sick sort of amazement.

        "Get Emily here," one of the men growled as the girl with copper hair managed to kick one of his knees, though he didn't fall down. " _Now_."

        Maria nodded and got out her walkie talkie and began speaking into it as another struggling kid got dragged out of the garage. 

        "Let go of me, you bastards!" this one screamed. He was a boy, with vibrant red hair and golden eyes. "Let go of me! Penny!"

        "Fredrick!" the girl screamed, kicking and struggling even harder to break free. 

        Just then, two girls came running up. Both I recognized well. One with pink hair, and one with violet. Two thoughts ran through my head. 

        One was  _Jennice is going to need to redye her hair again soon. The red's showing through._ And the second:  _That girl's an idiot. She should have realized it was useless to struggle by now._

        But I, of course, didn't voice either of these thoughts. My mind too preoccupied on the girl with pink hair and sharp blue eyes. Eyes that held a brilliance and defiance like none of the others. 

        Her name was Emily Myers, and she was well known throughout the whole of ACCA. I hadn't ever spoken with her, but I knew the name. She was strong, independent, undoubtedly beautiful (in a very scary way). And ruthless that made the demons of hell seem like saints.

        There was something I had picked up on with being here for only a few short weeks, though it makes me feel slow that it took me that long: ACCA was not a normal school. We had "capture the flag" that put us against each other and it wasn't uncommon for someone to get hurt. Fight occurred in the halls, and the teachers didn't stop them, they encouraged them. It wasn't rare for someone who wasn't in top condition to be "gotten rid of".

        They were killed, basically. What?! There's no need to sugarcoat it.

        Anyway, the most highly skilled assassin in this school was Emily Myers. She was like a pet to Abraham, the man in charge. Which equaled to her being the most well known person in ACCA. 

        Jennice went over to the boy while pulling out a needle and Emily went to the girl. Emily pulled the girl into a headlock and knocked her to the ground, Emily's knee in her back.

        I could see her gasping for breath before watching her green eyes roll into the back of her head. Jennice had been able to get the boy's arm in a firm enough grasp to poke the needle into a vein and he was now slumped against her. 

        I could still hear both heartbeats clearly, signaling both were alive. But both were unconscious.

        "That is enough for today, Maria," a man's deep voice said. I turned just as Abraham, the big man himself, as he put a hand on Maria's shoulder. He gave her a good natured grin, but I could feel my lips curl in disgust. "We'll contact you when they've awoken and we're in need of your service."

        "Y-Yes sir," Maria squeaked. Beyond them, I could see the spectacle had drawn quite the crowd.

        After all, there were indeed few who got Mr. Abraham Jones to retrieve them. While the boy and girl should have felt honored, they didn't know of it yet. And even when they learned, I couldn't feel envy.

        I despised the man. He rubbed me the wrong way so much, it was much too difficult to explain.

        Abraham looked over at me and I stood my ground.

        "And who are you?" he asked, a sly grin appearing on his wizened features.

        "Isn't it improper and impractical to not know the names of your students and workers?" I shot back without missing a beat.

        "Quite, yes," he agreed.

        Without another word, Maria dragged me off before I could say something that would get me into trouble.

        "Coco, you've really got to get a hold of your temper," she chastised.

        I rolled my eyes. "Says the Red Queen," I teased. Maria's face flamed red. 

        "W-W-Well-! That's another matter entirely!" she exclaimed. I chuckled and Jennice caught up to us.

        She ran a hand through her hair. "Wowzers," she said. "Brought in some weak ones this round."

        "Actually, I thought they were pretty strong," I pointed out. "I mean, the girl sent us flying."

        "And besides, you think everyone's weak," Maria said, poking Jennice. "They'll get stronger after a while."

        I rubbed my chin for a moment. "Maria, has anyone ever been known to run away?" I asked. 

        "Well, no," Maria said after a moment of thought. "I mean, everyone agrees to come here. We're given the option, and all those here said yes."

        I nodded, still unsure. "Yeah, but didn't that girl seem a little unwilling?" I questioned. 

        "There are more people than you'd think who are like that," Jennice told me, patting my head. I batted her hand away and she chuckled.

        "Stop it stop it stop it!" I whined. "Don't treat me like a kid!"

        "But you're just so cute!" Jennice exclaimed, wrapping her arms around me tightly and rubbing our cheeks together. I gave Maria a deadpanned look. 

        "Help?" I asked. Maria gave me a small smile and tapped Jennice's shoulder. 

        "That's enough, Jen," she said. 

        "Awwww!" Jennice complained and reluctantly let me go. She stood up and dusted off her jeans. "Well, anyway, a lot of students are reluctant to come here, even when they agree. I mean, it's just like going to any other boarding school."

        Except, of course, for the fact no one ever leaves. You can die. We're teenage spies.

        Perfectly normal.

        "Yeah, sure," I said. I picked up Maria's wrist to check her watch for the time. "Aw, crap! I've got class! I'll see you two later!"

        I turned and sprinted off to my Greek class, barely making it in time for the bell to ring. The teacher stepped in a few moments later.

        Two weeks passed before the new girl and boy entered any classes. The boy was in my Latin class, and the girl in my ballet. But outside of those, I didn't see them apart. 

        Then the next game of Capture the Flag came into play. During my Latin class, both me and the boy, whom I learned to be Fredrick, were given a slip of paper. 

        '8:00, Blue Team, Jungle Room'.

        "They really don't give you much time, do they?" I grumbled, getting up. it was 7:45 now.

        "Fredrick, follow Coco. She'll show you where to go," our teacher said. Fredrick nodded and silently followed me.

        I noticed he was unusually quiet, unlike the first day I'd seen him. He'd had a fire in his eyes. Now they were practically- dead. 

        I turned on my heels and left the room. I was curious, but it wasn't my problem.

        Fredrick followed me a few feet behind. I led him to the Jungle Room.

        "Ah, you're the last," Coach said as we got in line with the others. "Well, let me explain the rules for the new kids, since this is going to be your first Capture the Flag. Each of you have been split into red and blue teams. When I tell you, you will go change into the suit of of your color." She gestured over to the rack of black suits, each with either blue or red stripes down the arms and legs. "You will have five minutes to change. Once the bell goes off, the game begins. You will have two hours. You must make it into enemy territory and capture their flag, hidden on one person, and make it back to your own base. The first team to do so wins. Anything goes, but no killing."

        Coach blew her whistle and it rang loudly in my ear.

        "Get to it, troops!"

        I headed over to the rack and pulled off a blue suit before heading into the locker room to change. There were seven members to my teams. Me, Sam, Ace, this boy named Jeremy from my math class, and a few others I didn't know.

        After taking the suit off the hanger, a blue scarf floated onto the ground. With a shaking hand, I picked it up. 

        I was- the target?

        Suddenly, there was a hand on my shoulder. I jumped, spinning around as I did so and sliding a few feet away.

        It was same. The top of her suit wasn't zipped completely, and the black and blue made her electric eyes pop out more than they already did. I swore they could glow in the dark. Her black hair was even shorter than the last time I'd seen it. It was even worse cut than she'd done with the knife, but was now more styled like a pixie cut. She looked- rather mature for her age.

        She gave me a steady look. I couldn't see her wavering at all. 

        "If you'll allow me," she said steadily, "I will be your armor."

        The unspoken  _I will will protect you_  stood in the air.

        "Why?" I questioned.

        "Because you're the one with the flag," was what I thought she'd say. Instead she told me: "I have a debt to repay, and I'm not in the habit of letting those go."

        I clenched the scarf tighter in my hand. "What debt?" I wanted to ask. What had I done to deserve a debt to be repaid?

        But I didn't say a word. Instead, I turned away from her and dressed. I pulled my knives out of my pocket of my jacket and slipped them into my boots.

        "Let's go," I said when I turned and Sam still stood there. 

        When we left the locker room, we stood in line with our teammates. The loud buzzing to started the game echoed. 

        The door locked behind Coach as she left and the game began.

        I ran off into the tree, immediately attaching myself to one and climbing up on it. Reaching a branch large enough to stand on and support my weight, I turned to look around for Sam. I didn't see her. 

        "Tssk."

        I looked up to see Sam above me, hidden by shadow. She held a finger to her lips to keep my quiet. Then she was going on. I heard a shout from a little ways away. 

        So the first battle broke out.

        "Come on," Sam demanded. 

        She took my wrist and pulled me after her through the trees. Unable to keep up with her long strides, she picked me up and tossed me onto her back. I let out a shriek as she did so.

        "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" I shouted. 

        "Trying to get you to safety," she said, not bothering to look back as she jumped from tree to tree. 

        "I don't need safety! I need to be out there looking for the red flag, dummy!" I exclaimed, beginning to hit and kick Sam's back when she didn't put me down.

        "I'm not putting you down. You carry the blue flag. That makes you a prime target. This is a practice mission. Our mission is to keep out subject safe. The blue flag. What'll you do when it's a real mission?"

        That sobered my up right there and, though I pouted while I did it, I wrapped my arms tightly around Sam's back. "Fine," I grumbled, looking anywhere but at her.

        Suddenly, a hard body slammed into me. It knocked me loose of Sam and sent me tumbling towards the ground. 

        I screamed as I fell, but it was caught short as the breath was knocked out of me while I fell from branch to branch. I could feel scratches and bruises forming as I fell, but it was much better than breaking my neck by landing on the ground with that much distance between it and me. 

        I groaned heavily when I hit the ground. I could feel my back pop and my body screamed in protest as I sat up. But then I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up. 

        I held my breath and listened. I looked around slowly. Then there was a dagger behind thrown at me from the trees. 

        I managed to roll out of the way before it hit me and jumped to my feet. I dashed off into the overgrowth. Damn Sam's promises to protect me. 

        I didn't need anyone coming in at the last minute.

        I jumped into a group of ferns and knelt down out of sight. Blonde hair was really a pain in this room. I just had to hope no one saw me.

        Short, even steps came into the clearing as I peaked through the leaves. A boy with dark brown hair and a red stripe down his side. His heartbeat sounded the same as the one who'd pushed me out of the tree, though now that Sam wasn't around I could hear his just fine.

        He stopped and closed his eyes, apparently trying to sense me. 

        I slowly, oh so slowly, and stealthily pulled one of my knives from my boot. I angled it and tossed it at him. I could hear the wind whistle as shot through the air like a tumbling boomerang. He must have heard it too because he turned his face toward it and seemed to leaned back to avoid it.

        He was just a millisecond too slow, and it slashed his cheek. A thin stream of blood appeared and began to flow as the knife made a loud  _thud_ as it landed in the tree behind him.

        I jumped to my feet. All I had on my was my knives, and now only the one. I wasn't good at close combat, and I definitely wasn't confident in my skills of hand to hand without weapons.

        But I wasn't going to back down from a fight.

        The boy advanced on me and I gripped the knife hidden behind me more closely.

        I could feel my hand shaking and I gripped the knife even harder to stop it.

        He lunged at me and I ducked down, grabbing his legs. We both fell to the ground. I attempted to get up, but the boy grabbed onto my ankle and dragged me towards him.

        In what seemed like no time, I was pinned under him. I struggled to get out of his grasp, but my smaller body didn't allow that. He held tightly to my wrists as he stared at me. I looked into his dark eyes.

        So dark, almost black...

        I let out a scream as memories of so many years ago filled my head. "No! No! Let go of me!"

        The boy patted me down as I continued to shout. He pulled the scarf out of my suit a few seconds later, but only had it halfway out when there was suddenly a blade to his throat and a dark shadow behind him.

        "I wouldn't do that if I were you," the shadow said softly but darkly. The boy began shuddering and I could hear it. "Let. Her. Go."

        The boy yelped and jumped to his feet. Tossing the dagger away, Sam jumped at him and took hold of his wrist before pining it behind his wrist. Then she wrapped her other arm around his neck and held it there. 

        I was still breathing heavily when he let out a gasp and fell to the ground. He was still alive, but he'd have a massive headache when he woke up.

        "Blue Team wins," the robotic voice of the intercom said.

        I gave a small sigh as I rolled onto my knees and stood up. Sam stood and watched me. 

        "Debt repaid," she said. I nodded. Of course. 

        Nothing more of it. Just as she'd turned to go back to the locker room, she began to collapse. Out of instinct, I rushed over and caught her.

        I rolled my eyes. "You look like hell," I told her. Sam smirked.

        "You took my line," she replied easily.

        I huffed. "Whatever. You're really heavy, ya know?"

        "Looks like I'm still gonna be your armor for a while yet."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maria: Guuuuuys.... Where's Coco?  
> Ace: What do you mean?  
> Jennice: Ohmygosh, Coco's missing!  
> Ace: What?! Wren, when did you last see her?  
> Wren: Last night before I went to bed. Found a note. She's been kidnapped.  
> Maria: We have to save her! Cards, let's go!  
> Emily: No. We've got this.  
> Maria: What?!  
> Coco: No luck guys. I'm getting out on my own. Next time, chapter 5! Hi ya!


	5. Lion Claws

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coco's been through a lot. It's made her resourceful.

        Waking up was definitely a hassle. 

        Especially when- _why the hell is it so cold?!_

        If Wren had stolen my blanket ( _again_ ) I wasn't going to be happy.

        I was bristling was I cracked open my eyes. Out of all the things I expected to see when I opened my eyes (Wren sitting there curled in my blanket like the shithead she is, Pina, and Wren's obnoxious posters among the top three) a room with steel walls wasn't one of them.

        "Well, this is new."

        I sat up (with a small amount of struggle, no matter how many times you've practiced, it's still difficult) and looked around. 

        There was a door to my right, a large wheel on it and presumably locked. A couple air vents in the ceiling, both bolted closed. No windows, but a hanging bulb illuminated the room in florescent light.

        I struggled with the cuffs on my hands for a moment or two, but they were on good. With difficultly, I maneuvered my arms so I could reach one of the hair pins I kept tucked under layers of hair for this very situation.

        I pulled one out, pulling a few stray hairs away as well, and began working at the locks on my cuffs. Admittedly, it would have been easier if I could have used two hands but there's no helping it.

        Biting my lip, I was finally able to get the handcuffs off. I rubbed my wrist, trying to discern what would be the best route for escape.

        I didn't know where I was, didn't know how they'd gotten into ACCA, or what they wanted from me, but I sure as hell wasn't going to stick around to find out.

        Sure enough, when I turned the wheel, it only turned about a quarter inch before it stopped and refused to budge. Locked, of course.

        The vents were high, and bolted, and there wasn't anything to stand on. 

        I went over to the wall, testing the bolts in it. I rubbed my hands together before gripping onto a couple bolts and toeing a couple others.

        Highly dangerous, not sure when or if I'd fall. I made my way up the wall and neared the closest vent. I braced my legs against the wall and one of my hands and back against the ceiling for support. With my other hand, I reached out and tested the vent. 

        Finding it to be bolted tightly, I reached and felt around the lining of my panties (I didn't have my jacket, and therefore my gun, which was pissing me off but when you've got a profession as dangerous as me, you learn to carry things in odd places). I pulled out a switch blade with a screwdriver in it. 

        Chewing on my bottom lip, I twisted the bolts out one by one. I almost dropped my switch blade at one point, which caused my position to get even more perilous as I had to practically lunge to grab it. 

        Finally, I pushed in the vent and crawled in.

        Even with my small size, I had to crawl to not bump my head. I listened closely, focusing on any of the other openings to see where might be a good exit place.

        I found my way to an empty room, working on undoing the bolts in the vent and pulling it up just as the door to the room unlocked. 

        I froze, listening as the shouts of a girl came below. 

        "Let go of me!" she shrieked. " **Let go of me, you bastards!** " That last part I didn't understand, but I could easily tell it wasn't nice.

        I pulled the vent away and looked down into the room to plan my escape. If I jumped down, aiming at the man holding her left arm, it'll break my fall and leave me an opening to get out.

        Steeling my resolve, I made sure both ponytails were tight and all clothing was on correctly. Then I jumped. 

        "Hi ya!" I hit the man with the call and he went tumbling, bringing the other guard with him. I jumped out the door, not looking back behind me though footsteps were close on my heel.

        "Where are we going?" the girl asked. 

        "Don't know," I told her.

        I skidded to a stop right before I rounded a corner. I looked around it, spotting a few armed guards near a door. 

        "Damn, if only I had a-" My jaw dropped as a gun was pressed into my palm. I looked up at the girl and she smiled dryly.

        "Old habits die hard," she stated. "You were gonna say gun, weren't you?" She seemed disinterested in the answer as she cocked the gun.

        I nodded sharply, getting the gun ready. "On three," I told her. "One, two, three!"

        I jumped into the hall and began shooting. The girl followed merely seconds later. The guards didn't have time to shoot back. They were all down minutes later, the two of us with only a few grazes.

        I ran to the door, slipping the gun into my pocket as I did so. I turned the wheel on the door, this one unlocked, and threw the door open. 

        I stumbled back, eyes wide, as my hair whipped around my face. There was nothing outside but open air. A blue, blue sky and puffy clouds. 

        "Here," the girl said, pushing a backpack into my arms. "Parashoot," she explained upon my look of confusion. 

        I strapped it on and we stood at the edge of the doorway leading to the sky and I gripped it tightly. I wouldn't show it, but I did _not_ like heights.

        Neither of us were dressed appropriately for this, either. Both of us in pajamas.

        The girl grabbed my hand and jumped, pulling me along with her. 

        "Pull the string!" she screamed, though with the wind deafening me, it sounded distant. 

        I nodded, pulling on the string whipping around near my chest. All my air was ripped out of my lungs as the material burst out of my pack.

        The girl's shoot was released as soon as I started floating along. 

        "Well, this was quite the adventure," the girl said as she drifted closer. "I'm Alise."

        I hesitated before looking away. "Coco."

        A black flying thingy ascended from below us and I tensed. "This is the Air Knight 237. We're coming to get you."

_Abraham! Oh, damn him!_

        The top opened up and we dropped in. 

        I pulled the pack off and tossed it to the side as the intercom crackled. "Welcome aboard, ladies. I'd like to have Coco come through the door to your right, if you don't mind."

        Scoffing, I turned and pushed open the door as Alise was taken off into a different door.

        Abraham sat behind a large desk, seven others already in the room. Five other girls, and two boys. I recognized Emily and Sam, but they were the only ones. Well, personally. Fredrick and that girl with glasses, too. But again, not much.

        The door shut automatically behind me as I joined the half circle around Abraham's desk. 

        Abraham folded his hand and sat up straight, looking each of us in the eye. "You each have exemplary talents. You've each proven yourselves able to work through every situation that arose. Emily Meyers."

        Emily nodded to Abraham.

        "Michel Louster."

        "Still prefer Mickey." The boy had dark brown hair and green eyes, his suit had dark green stripes down it.

        "Penny Roggers."

        "Y-Yes!" the copper haired girl exclaimed, brushing hair out of her face and bouncing on the balls of her feet.

        "Fredrick O'Hare."

        "Sir!" His hair was literally the brightest red I'd ever seen, and I'd never seen anyone with golden eyes either.

        "Rebecca Johnson. Lissana Mathews."

        Two girls, their arms intertwined, nodded to Abraham. One with dark hair and brown eyes, the other with hair the color of caramel and blue eyes. 

        "Sam, Chloe Keeton." My eyes locked with Sam's before our attention returned to Abraham. "You eight are now part of an elite team, specializing in retrieving information, people, and objects."

        A heavy silence stretched long between all of us. Abraham grinned.

        "Welcome to The Hostesses."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coco: What the hell was that?  
> Maria: I'm not sure anyone knows...  
> Ace: Abraham doesn't normally assign teams. Normally we just kind of make them ourselves.  
> Coco: Wha-  
> Sam: Penny, no!  
> Maria: Emily! We need you!  
> Emily: I'll take care of this.  
> Coco: Next time, chapter 6! Check out
> 
> [Penny's story](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14331651/chapters/33073113)
> 
> \- ACK!  
> Penny: Freeeddrrriiiccckk!


	6. Lion Mane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things have happened with Penny. Coco isn't sure how to deal with it.

        Since the announcement, training had gotten even more intense. 

        The team was regularly required to train together, which was not particularly something I liked. The only one I could match equally with was Sam. Lizz and Becca just  _would not_ part. Emily, Fredrick, and Mickey were far too overpowering. Penny was far too _under_ powering.

        I mean, in the shooting range? I was top notch, I was queen of the court, so to say. In my not so humble opinion. _Penny_? Penny wouldn't even pick up a gun.

        Not to mention it seemed like everyone had some kind of unspoken partner they'd automatically go to. Emily, Mickey. Lizz, Becca. Penny, Fredrick. Me, Sam. 

        Obviously. 

        By the time I was turning thirteen, we'd gone on many missions, successful missions I should elaborate, and still weren't any closer than before. We were just... a bunch of people forced to interact with each other. 

        I wouldn't trust anyone on the team with my life. Except maybe Sam. But Sam was different. 

        For some reason, she constantly acted like she still had something to repay me for. 

        Which was ridiculous. I didn't _do_ anything. 

        But I completely digress. 

        It was late. I'd just gotten back from a mission with the team (one that had ended up with my in a bunny onsie costume. Ugh. Disgusting) and was utterly exhausted. I didn't even notice Wren's empty bed. 

        I fell down onto my own and immediately fell asleep, Pina clutched tightly to my chest. 

        I didn't even realize I'd been asleep until I'd been roughly woken up. 

        My eyes opened wide and I was going to scream at the masked faces surrounding me, but a hand was preventing me from making a sound. And I couldn't move. At all. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see one of them held an empty needle. 

        _They bloody paralyzed me. Great._

        The figure holding their hand on my mouth knelt down by me and removed their mask to reveal Wren. 

        "Little closely, Coco," she said as the other followed suit. I brought my attention back to her. "We're leaving here for good. ACCA is not a good place, and we're going to bring it down. We would take you with us, but Abraham's watching you now. He will notice your absence and search for you to the ends of the earth."

        I could feel my fingertips tingling and Wren brought her hand away from my mouth as she stood. She pulled her mask back on. Finally I noticed the faces of the three behind her. Chase was among the group, though the other two I didn't. 

        "You don't belong here," Wren said, her voice muffled. "But you've done a damn well good job of hiding it. Be careful, Coco."

        The others pulled on their masks and filed out the room. Chase gave me a smile and a nod before leaving. Wren was the last to leave. With difficultly, that resulted in me falling on the floor, I sat up and reached out for Wren.

        "Wait!" I croaked out. "Wha- Where will you go?" I questioned. "How will you bring him down? How will I get in contact with you?"

        Wren's expression was unreadable behind her mask. "If you ever get outside, we'll contact you."

        And then she was gone, as if she'd never been there. And I was left alone on the floor in darkness. 

        The next day, there was a red alert. Top secret information had been stolen from ACCA (which was _never_ heard of) by some deserters. Wren, Chase, and the others. Their faces were plastered across on every available screen, with the same monotonous instructions to kill on sight. 

        A few teams were sent out in search of them. They rarely came back complete. When The Cards came back, Jenniece was missing an eye and Indigo was dead. 

        I didn't know who to side with. Who I could agree with. I felt- some sort of connection to Wren, and Maria. I couldn't forgive Wren's team for what they did to Indigo, but I... I don't know, _trusted_ Wren? I understood her better than anyone, at least.

        For a while, it seemed like I would be following in her footsteps. 

        I couldn't keep a roommate for more than a day. Mostly because I was far too controlling and did everything possible to get them out. 

        I was almost fourteen by the time Sam decided to move in. She was the only one I couldn't kick out, no matter how I tried. She did _everything_ in her power to placate me. Which worked, though I will never admit it. 

        She brought me hot chocolate first thing in the morning, made my bed for me when I was too lazy, took care of the missions list. Hell, Sam even took care of my homework. Okay, so, _helped_ me with it when I was struggling.

        May passed, then so did Summer in a flash. Fredrick had gotten sick mid-August so neither he nor Penny had been on a mission since then. November came along with the first real chills of the year. It felt good to be in my jacket again. 

        But then Lizz and Becca thought it would be a good idea to do some "team bonding" on Penny's birthday, November 13th. I didn't, for the record. We had our places in the team, and I was fine with how things were.

        But, needless to say, the party happened. A big room off the cafeteria was set off and completely covered with with birthday decorations. A cake was made and games were played and there was a million more kids than I even knew the names of in _one_ room.

        I mostly stuck to Sam's head to get around so I wasn't trampled by the stamped of hormone raddled teenagers. Maria was going around the whole time, taking pictures. 

        "Hey, Hostesses!" she shouted later into the evening. "It's cake time!"

        Penny was pushed into the chair by the table, the candles on the cake casting shadows on her face. 

        Sam walked over to the table, my arms wrapped around her forehead. I pouted and furrowed my eyebrows. "You guys should know I'm only here for the cake," I grumbled and Sam let out a snort in response. 

        Lizz and Becca grinned at me mischievously and I tightened my hold on Sam's forehead. I didn't like the way there were eyeing me and the cake. Emily had an arm wrapped around Penny's neck and was giving her a nuggie, saying: "You've done good, kid." even though she was a year older than us. 

        Fredrick was on Penny's other side, one hand on her shoulder and the other gripping her hand. Mickey stood closer to us, looking at Emily like she was the most beautiful thing in the world. 

        Which, okay, she wasn't _bad_ looking, and it was known the two were _together_ , but the thought was still gross. 

        Before I even realized it, Maria was shouting "Cheese!" and a bright flash went off, almost blinding me. She grinned cheekily when I glared at her holding her camera. 

        The whole debacle was insane. At one point, I swear the birthday girl wasn't anywhere to be found. I dislike large crowds, and it'll never change. I just wanted it to all be over and to go back to my room. 

        It wasn't... until a bit later that I knew things would never be the same again. 

        Mid December. We had barely gotten back from a mission. All of us were badly injured, except Fredrick and Penny who'd had the jobs of being lookouts and working things from the car. 

        But it was Fredrick who had collapsed in the middle of the main hall, halting everyone at Penny's cry of panic. 

        "Fredrick!" 

        At her shout, the entire team had run over to him and it hadn't been a pretty sight. He was unconscious, and bleeding from both his nose and mouth. 

        The doctor came and took him to the infirmary. 

        Later we were told there hadn't been a scratch on him. That until further tests were done, no one knew what had prompted it. 

        The doctor was lying through her teeth, and I knew it. I just couldn't prove it. Nor did I care. It wasn't my place. 

        Two weeks later, Penny came to the Hostesses' meeting room, looking far more depressed than I'd ever seen her. 

        "He's- He's got cancer," Penny said, her voice breaking with every word. They built up in her, welling up as tears she could barely hold in. She pressed her palms to her eyes to try to prevent the tears from falling, but failed miserably. She only succeeded in pushing her large framed glasses from her face and into her lap. "They caught it too late. There's nothing they can do now," she sobbed. 

        And suddenly she was more human. Her bronze hair lacked the shiny, penny like bronze luster it usually had and Emily loved to point out. Her eyes weren't emerald, they were just- green. Sure, they were shining. But the gleam came from her tears. She looks broken, slumped over like she was, her body wracking with sobs no one was close enough to her to bother to help her through. 

        "Freddie- Fredrick's dying."

        A shattered doll no one wanted anymore. 

        Penny was very, very much human and I felt, for the first time since Alexis, the results of circumstance. 

        I was alone _by choice_. Lizz and Becca _had each other_. Mickey and Emily had _found each other_. Sam had attached herself _to me_. Penny? She had _no one_ now. 

       Fredrick was her last piece of home, of family, of her past, of comfort. And she was slowly losing him. Which was, in my not so humble opinion, so much worse than being torn from everything you care about. 

         I fidgeted with my hands, but wasn't able to keep off the nagging in my head. I looked up and around at my group. 

        My _team_. The people I was supposed to be able to trust with my life. 

        The people I knew literally _nothing_ about. Their favorite colors? Favorite foods? Siblings, family? Happy memories? 

        Past?

        Knowing would result in possible friendship, kinship, closeness. Something I couldn't risk. I couldn't risk becoming close to anyone, to forming friendships. It would only slow me down. I had to look out for myself or it could easily be the end of me. 

        But it sure as hell would have been a whole lot easier. 

        I suddenly stood, only Mickey, Lizz, and Sam noticing. 

        "Coco-" Sam said, holding out a hand for me. I turned before she could touch me. 

        I didn't utter a word as I left, not sure where I was going. 

        I don't know how much longer it was, probably many hours later, before Sam found me. I was sitting with Pina, curled up in one of the circular windows on the upper floors. We really shouldn't have been allowed up there, staff only, but I'd hacked enough of Emily's stuff to get onto the floor. And with Sam following me everywhere...

        I squeezed Pina tighter, closing even deeper into myself as my mind scrambled. Sam didn't speak, only crossed her arms and leaned against the wall and looked out the window. 

        Lights shone from business still doing their jobs and street lights and cars alike. The stars weren't visible from this part in the city, but the moon looked huge on that particular night. 

        Finally, I broke my gaze away from the outside and turned to Sam. She neither spoke nor acknowledged my movement. She was bathed in silver moonlight, her bright eyes looking owlish. Not in the freaky way, though. 

        Sam was one of the pretty ones. Not, like, Emily pretty in an exotic way, or a Penny or Maria pretty in a cute way. More like... an elegant pretty. Almost noble in a sense. 

        It wasn't even just her looks that were pretty and noble. The way she spoke, the way she walked, the way she played _music_. She was talented and smart and beautiful and I- I wasn't. 

        I looked down at Pina, wanting to be able to curl even deeper but not being able to. 

        And I thought about how I knew _nothing_ of Sam either. Each of us had a story. One that shaped us and got us here, but we were all stripped of that identity once we walked through those doors. We all got a clean slate. A blank sheet. That's why no one asked about pasts. 

        "I know it's a rule you don't ask," I muttered, squeezing Pina even tighter. "But I want to tell anyway."

        I closed my eyes tightly, taking in a deep breath, and when I opened them Sam was staring at me silently. She had softened her eyes and seemed to be waiting patiently for me to continue, like this was what she had been wanting me to say, even though I knew that wasn't true. Even so, I got defensive about it and turn pink. 

        "I- I'm not telling you everything!" I exclaimed, sitting up a little bit straighter as my voice reverberated off the metal walls. "Just- Just enough to get this off my chest." She still didn't say a word but now looked amused. I sent her a dirty look before sighing and looking out the window once again. "Back before I came here... I lived in New York. A bad part of it. I never had any friends. At least, I never counted anyone as friends. But there was this girl... Alexis Plum. Weird name right?" I cracked a broken smile, not even sure Same could see it. Maybe she saw the reflection. I know I did. I looked pathetic, so I let it fall. I looked back at Pina. "She died. Was murdered. By her father. A beating, I think. I'm... not sure. I never realized until after her death that she'd been there quite a lot for me. Or knew that she considered me her best friend."

        My hands were shaking. When had they started that? I'd never told anyone, not even Wren or Maria, about Alexis. Why was I telling Sam? Prompting her to give away her secrets? There was no guarentee she would, nor that I'd care. 

        Still, I continued. "Her last gift to me was Pina. It was supposed to be a birthday present. She... didn't make it. It was given to me by her mother."

        I didn't elaborate on anything before or after the incident. That was all Sam needed to know. 

        My point was, I _knew_ pain. I knew loss. I wasn't as close to Alexis as Penny was to Fredrick, but I still _knew_. The pain was crippling. Alexis had been a building block to a family _I never had_. 

        And once she was gone, there was no going back. Once again, I was cut off. 

        And for me, it had all happened in less than a moment. From the loss to the realization to the pain to the finalization that I'd never open myself to anyone ever again- it was so quick, if you'd blinked you'd have missed it.

        But for Penny, it was long, slow, agonizing process. 

        Sam got my unspoken claims and placed a hand on my shoulder. "One day," she said in way of a promise. Whatever she was promising, I didn't know. I couldn't understand. I didn't know Sam. I knew nothing about her. We were prefect stranger who somehow were indebted to each other until the end of times. 

        Somehow, she got me back to my room and I slept like the dead. 

        I dreamed once again about the black space, with the single light and unfamiliar song. But then there was another sound. A harsh cry. 

        On the other side of the empty space of a circular image. Alexis's house. She was crying out, screaming. But then it was inside the house, and I could understand what she was screaming. 

        _"Chloe! Chloe! Why won't you help me?!" she screamed as her father drunkenly beat her. "Save me, Chloe! Help me!"_

        I covered my ears, trying to block out the sound. I could still hear her loud and clear. I fell to my knees. 

        _"Why won't you help me, Chloe?! You're supposed to be my friend!"_

        "No, no, shut up!" I screamed, trying to down her out. "No! I'm not your friend! I never was! Stop it! Stop it! It's not my fault! It's not my fault! I didn't do _anything_!"

        _"And that's why I'm dead."_

        I shot up to see Alexis's form in front of me. Black and bruised and transparent. Blood dripped from the back of her head, matting her dark hair. 

        I took a step back, the unfamiliar song almost roaring in my ears as Alexis gave me a pitying look. 

        She held up her hand and I turned and ran. I didn't want to know what happened next. I couldn't keep looking at her. I ran towards the unfamiliar song, trying to claw my way up to blackness towards it. 

        The walls, or whatever they were, seemed to be made of a rough black material and it wasn't the hardest I've ever done to do. But just as I was reaching for the light, the fabric jerked and I lost my grip. 

        I fell, screaming as I did so. I fell past Alexis, closing my eyes as I braced for an impact that never came. A black cloth enveloped me and took me to an inky black emptiness. And I seemed to continue falling. 

        Until I found myself awake, crying. Sam wasn't in the room, which was weird. But I suppose it was better, because I disliked being around anyone when I cried, which was rare. 

        I digress, anyway. 

        The next few weeks took us to hell. None of us went on missions, because Penny refused to leave Fredrick's side. And without Penny, the team had no brain. 

        I started being riskier in my boredom. Going higher in the building, even so much as to go to the roof. Which, as far as I knew, was reserved for executions and training. Emily only, of course. 

        Of course, snooping was not out of the question. I tended to do so, but most desks, like the doors, needed clearance levels to access. Which I didn't have. It would have been so much easier if they were locks to pick. But, obviously, the adults in the system knew _exactly_ how dangerous the talents they taught the kids were.

        But there was one room I'd gone into that had an open drawer. Full of paperwork. Highly classified paperwork. 

        Of course I was going to go through it. 

        I was in the middle of one file (one on Wren, no less) when the alarm went off. 

        I thought I'd triggered something, so I took the file and split. Through the vents which, while cramped, weren't expected to be used for an escape, making them perfect. 

        I landed in the main entrance, and immediately realized that I was not, in fact, the cause for alarm. 

        "Wha-"

        Then I heard the gunshot and another scream. Immediately, I pushed through the crowd running against me towards it. 

        I could barely hear over the thundering footfalls and heartbeats, but the screams cutting through the air sent a chill down my spine. One of them was mine.

        Bodies. So many bodies. More than I could count. So many, and making it even harder were the terrified students and staff. 

        Finally, the crowd thinned enough so I could see through them. My eyes widened and I choked on air. 

        "No, no, this isn't- This can't be real."

        I pushed through, my heart thumping and feeling desperate. 

        When I finally pushed through the last of the crowd, I finished a circle made of the Hostesses. Penny in the middle.

        Except she didn't look like Penny.

        She kinda did, but she didn't. Blood stained her clothes and hands. Smeared across her face. The blood lust in her eyes was unmistakable. She was gritting her teeth, her eyes sharp and intimidating. She was perfectly still as she held the gun in her hand. Pointed straight at Maria.

        _No. No. No!_

        "Penny, stop!" Sam shouted, noticing my terrified expression. 

        _Stop caring. I don't care, I don't care, I don't!_

        Maria was already bleeding. A cut on her forehead was gushing heavily and making it hard for her to see out of one eye. She clutched one arm, but blood was leaking through it. 

        _You can hurt me, you can break me, you can kill me, you can take everything away from me._

        Not-Penny's expression turned into a malicious grin before laughing emotionlessly. "Penny isn't here anymore," she claimed. And the shot echoed around the room. 

        _But dear God, just don't kill her._

        I wasn't thinking. I was moving on my own. I felt the pain in my gut as I stood in front of Maria. I could feel tears leaking from my eyes and heard the distantly echoing screams tear from the throats of Sam and someone who might have been Lizz, but was more likely Maria. 

        I dropped to my knees, gripping my stomach. Suddenly, there was warm arms surrounding me. They felt like a pillow. I wanted to sink into them and go to sleep. 

        "Emily, we need you!" Maybe-Maria screamed. 

        "I've got this!" Probably-Emily shouted back. 

        I was lain on the ground, and felt pressure on my abdomen, and felt the bullet sinking deeper into me and making me cringe and cry out. I was brought back to reality fully, my breathing coming out harshly. I wasn't going to die, that much I knew. But I was in so much pain, I wasn't sure I didn't want to.

        I turned my head in the direction of Maria, making sure the stupidly stupid risk I'd taken hadn't been for nothing. She was still hurt, but alive. I cracked a smile at her and she said something, but I couldn't understand her. 

        Dimly, I could see Penny- Er, Not-Penny- and Emily struggling. It looked for a few moments like Not-Penny was going to win. But then Emily got her into a headlock and was able to grab the gun in Not-Penny's hands before she was thrown off Not-Penny's back.

        Not-Penny froze for a few moments, like she was processing something that was taking forever to load. Then her face became a look or horror. She looked around at all the fearful students still in the vicinity. At all the bodies littering the floor. The blood on the wall, the floor the people, herself. 

        That was the worst. When she looked down at her hands and her skirt and saw the blood she looked like she'd been _shattered_. She fell to her knees, crying into her hands. 

        "Not again, not again," she sobbed. "No, no, not again."

        Everything was silent. No one moved, barely anyone breathed. Emily stood up then, her breathing labored. She discarded the gun as she made her way over to the girl who was Penny once again. 

        Maria and Sam helped me sit up after making sure I wasn't going to start bleeding again. Everyone else seemed to be moving, too. I shook my head slightly before turning to Sam. 

        "What- What happened?" I questioned. 

        Sam lowered her eyes, not looking at me. Her lips were a thin line, and I could tell she was trying to decide how to say it.

        "Fredrick... was not the only one to die today."

        My eyes widened, my jaw went slack. I turned my head and my spine went rigid as Penny got carted off by some of the adults. 

        "Oh."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lizz: Well, that was-  
> Becca: Yeah.   
> Lizz: Wow. I just can't-  
> Becca: Uh huh.  
> Lizz: But can you believe that was all exposition?! And next chapter we get to actual plot!  
> Sam: One more chapter.   
> Becca: What?!  
> Sam: One more chapter. And stop breaking the forth wall.  
> Lizz+Becca: Awwwe!  
> Emily: Next time, Chapter 7.


	7. Lion Tamer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes Coco makes good decisions. Sometimes she doesn't. Only time will tell which this is.

        Penny was held in isolation for a month under constant surveillance. Just to make sure she didn't... freak out again.

        Two hundred seventy-five people died that day. One had been Fredrick. 36 had died because of the commotions and being trampled or embedded by something or tossed off somewhere. 238 had been by Penny's gun.

        There was no way someone like her wasn't completely crazy after what she'd done. 

        There was no way _I_ wasn't crazy for walking down the halls of the dormitories towards Penny's. She was still on house arrest. Well, more accurately room arrest, but at least she wasn't forced to be alone anymore. People just... didn't want to go near her because of what she did.

        So I didn't understand myself why I was there. 

        I shook my head and placed my hand on the scanner. 

        It scanned my hand and I impatiently waited for it to grant me entry. It took so long I almost thought that it'd refuse me and block me out. But the scanner turned green and the door popped open.

        I pushed it in and stepped inside. The one word I could easily use to describe the state of her room was _obsession_. Sketched images of Fredrick laid _everywhere_ , covering every surface. And there she sat, on her bed, sketching some more. 

        The single light illuminating her was dim, making it difficult to see. She didn't even look up as I entered the room, to busy with her work, so much of which covered her bed I couldn't even see it.

        I leaned down and picked up one of the images. It was almost lifelike. Just Penny curled up on the ground, reaching out for a fading Fredrick. The pain and emotion was evident without even words being said. _Please don't go-!_ Tears spilled down the painted Penny's cheeks.

        Another was just an image of Fredrick, standing in a willow tree and smiling down. Once of Fredrick beautifully laid in a coffin. In an open field filled with flowers, in a suit under an arch, soaring above the stars with wings on his back and Penny in his arms, an image of him of what he might have looked like if he'd been able to grow older.

        Dozens of images, none two alike. Some showed him older, some he was younger. Most of them were him alone, but the ones Penny included herself in were filled with utter adoration.

        I looked over at Penny, unable to even describe what I was feeling. Disgust didn't seem like the right word, surprise was too soft. It... was a little _much_ , perhaps, but also... well, I didn't know anyone else who'd do what she did. Someone who was just so _attached_ to someone else to be like- like _this_ over them.

        "So this is what you've done for the last month," I muttered, tossing the images. They held suspended in the air for a moment, then gravity took hold and they drifted to the ground. 

        Penny's movements stalled, just now noticing my presence. 

        "Why are you here?"

        Her voice was quiet. Far quieter than I'd ever heard it. She'd always been... loud. Not _loud_ , like Lizz or even Becca. She wasn't a presence you could _feel_ as soon as she walked into the room. But she'd had determination. She had a strength people wouldn't guess unless they knew her. Even when she cried- heavy and broken or tight and angry- she was loud. You _knew_. Because, even though it wasn't a noticeable presence, Penny was loud. 

        But all of it was just... _gone_.

        The strength, the dedication, everything. All that was left was this shell of a person filled with the shatter pieces of who she used to be. 

        It was... disgusting. horrifying.

        Her question lacked any depth, any emotion. Her eyes were dead, lacking their usual shines.

        "Well, I'm supposed to be here, aren't I?" I questioned, discarding some crumpled up papers from the end of Penny's bed so I could sit comfortably. "You know, the whole 'We're teammates so we've got to be there for each other' shindig, right?"

        I watched Penny, my eyes wide. Penny looked down at her lap, letting her hair cover her face. "You came, you saw, now you can kindly _get out_ ," she said, her voice harsh. She paled and pulled her knees to her chest and hid her face in them. 

        In the process, she'd dropped the image she'd been working on. I picked it up and studied it. 

        It was different from the rest; a crystallized kind of vase with red and blue and pink and purple. It was mostly filled with a dark substance. 

        "What is this?" I questioned in confusion. I mean, it wasn't so out of place for me to think she was making another picture of Fredrick, right?

        "It was supposed to have Fredrick's ashes," Penny muttered, only barely looking up. "But they wouldn't even let me have those."

        I couldn't exactly tell her pain. I mean, it kinda felt creepy to me, keeping some dead person's ashes in the room with you. But I guess whatever floats your boat...?

        I sighed, setting the unfinished image aside. "What _happened_?" I finally asked, getting to the question that'd been on my mind.

        Penny glowered, pulling closer into herself. " _Nikki_ happened," she growled. A noise that surprised me because I'd never expected to hear it out of _Penny_ of all people.

        "Who's... Nikki?"

        Penny's expression fell and she moved her legs so they were curled under her. Instead, she hugged a pillow to her chest. "It's- It's not exactly her fault. It's- It's mostly mine. I- I- I- I don't _know_ what I was thinking. I- I was just- just so, _so_ sad and angry-"

        "Penny. Who. Is. Nikki?"

        Penny roughly brushed the growing tears in her eyes away and took in a deep breath. "I have D.I.D., dissasociative identity disorder. Well, you've probably heard it more described as a multi-personality disorder." Penny hugged the pillow closer to her. "Nikki, she's- Well. I- We- We share the same body, and I guess we _technically_ have the same brain. But, it's, um, well, she- she didn't- she isn't- She's not _me_ , persay. We're two different people with different feelings and personalities and- and- and everything. She's just- just kinda _there_ and I have no say in that but she doesn't come out unless I touch a gun which I know I know I know but I still grabbed the gun back then and- and- and I was just so angry and scared and disconsolate and I wasn't _thinking_ and I just wanted to not be _me_ and the only way I could think of was Nikki but that was a bad idea and I knew that and when she saw Fredrick she- she just-"

        I grabbed Penny and shook her before her rambling could go any further. I could barely make out a word she was saying. 

        "Breath, Penny, before you end up killing yourself too," I demanded. 

        She took in a deep breath as instructed before pulling my hands off her. "I'm... fine now. I think."

        I rolled my eyes and had to suppress a groan. "You are most certainly _not_ fine," I stated. 

        Penny began shuddering, she herself suppressing sobs. "No, no I'm not," she agreed, her hand going over mouth to try to muffle the sobs coming from it. "But I- But I have to be. I have to stay here, keep learning, keep living. But Fredrick died- _died for nothing_!"

        I gave her a confused look. "But you said-"

        "Damn what I said!" Penny shouted, pulling at her hair and no longer caring to muffle her anguish. "They _knew_! They've known since we arrived here! I went searching for _any_ sign that might have saved him! Something _I_ could have missed! And it was there! Everything! All of his medical documents, proving that _they'd known_ since the first week we'd been here!" Penny's voice continued to get shriller the more she talked. "They'd found the cancer early on. Early enough to _save him_. But they _chose not to_. I'll _never_ forgive them."

        The voice she used- I could place a name to it. _Nikki_. 

        Well, it made sense if they used the same body. Except it _really_ didn't because I didn't have a bloody clue what was going on or anything about mental illnesses, which I guess it was...? 

        "Then get your revenge," I said, jumping off the bed. My jacket fluttered around me as I did so. 

        "What?!" Penny shrieked. "I- I- _ca_ \- What- How?!"

        I reached into my pocket, feeling my knife. I gripped the handle tightly. I'd had the knife since I'd arrived at ACCA. It'd been a constant and had saved my life more than once.

        But in honesty, it meant nothing to me. 

        I whipped around, my jacket flying out around me. "Join us," I said, smirking. "Join us in bringing down this shit hole. We're not pawns to be toyed and played with, and I don't have a need to feel that way like they've made you." I held the knife out to Penny. "Can't use a gun? Fine. Perfect. Use a weapon you can. Get off the ground. Spit out your blood and bare your teeth; if you're going down, go down a savage. Go down fighting."

        Penny looked from me to the knife and back again. 

        "Why?" she asked.

        "Because this placed has fucked me over just as much."

        Penny took hold of the knife, clasping her hand over mine. "I'm in."

        I smirked, a thing full of malice and utter loathing for ACCA. "Good to know, Roggers."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coco: Okay, why are they always late?  
> Sam: Coco, calm down.  
> Coco: I will not calm down!  
> Penny: You're acting like a child.  
> Coco: Am not! You're a child.  
> Penny: Um, Coco, we're the same age.  
> Coco: Shuuuuut uuuuup!  
> Sam: Next time, chapter 8.


End file.
